Deadline: 8 March 2019
The British Council is seeking EOIs for its Art Connects Us program to increase connections between the UK creative sectors and young creative professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Research may take the form of meeting with potential artists and partners; finding out more about applicant’s chosen art forms’ ecosystem in a country or countries; gaining an understanding of art trends in Sub-Saharan Africa; meeting arts organisations and/or attending events and festivals with a view to programming or curating work in the UK.
The countries covered under the programme (in which the British Council operates) are: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Aims
This opportunity aims to:
- facilitate the UK creative sector’s ambitions to connect with young, African creatives and art professionals who are 18 to 35-year-olds;
- increase opportunities for UK arts organisations and individuals to visit African cities and gain further insight into the chosen local art sector;
- encourage and support the development of networks that connect the UK and SubSaharan African arts sectors for the long term;
- widen the opportunities for art professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa to connect with UK arts organisations and arts professionals.
Focus Areas
- Creative Enterprise: They support young artists to professionalise their skills through opportunities to create work, connect with their peers and engage with formal training programmes. Through this work, which primarily occurs in a Creative hub context, they are supporting the contribution that the creative and cultural industries make to increasing career opportunities for young people.
- Festivals: Festivals are a meeting point, a hive of activity for young people to network, share art, share skills, exchange ideas, and celebrate each other’s art to wide and varied audiences. They support festivals across sub-Saharan Africa and the UK with new networks and ideas to help strengthen their artistry and impact.
- New Connections: Their country-based arts teams continually explore the art sectors in which they work, so that they can share knowledge with others and inspire new connections between creative communities. They support initiatives that increase the awareness of contemporary culture in the countries in which they work and in doing so challenge the established narrative of Africa in the UK and vice versa.
Funding Information
The British Council will award up to 9 grants of £2,500 (each) to proposals to undertake research of applicant’s chosen artistic sector & travel in the Sub-Saharan Region between April 2019 and March 2020.
Eligibility Criteria
The successful applicant is likely to:
- be based at UK arts organisation or individual with a proven track record of working internationally;
- have a minimum of 3 years professional experience in their sector;
- demonstrate experience in working with international partners to deliver collaborative arts programmes;
- have a basic knowledge of their chosen art sector in the region which is being visited (although the British Council will provide support in putting together a detailed programme);
- demonstrate a clear rationale for the research they want to undertake;
- demonstrate a commitment to their British Council values.
How to Apply
Applications should be submitted via email at the given address in a single PDF file and not to exceed 2MB in size.
For more information, please visit https://www.britishcouncil.org/arts/partner/sub-saharan-africa