British Council’s Connections through Culture Programme

Deadline: 08-Nov-20

The British Council is seeking applications for its Connections Through Culture(CTC) programme that will support online collaboration projects between Southeast Asia and the UK.

The primary objective is to support exchanges and collaborations between the UK and Southeast Asia. Prior to Covid-19, this would have most likely involved international travel. However, with travel restricted and uncertain, the CTC grant should be used to develop and strengthen new and existing relationships between the UK and Southeast Asia, by providing funding to allow conversations to happen, and for the possibilities of online collaboration to be explored.

Celebrating the diverse cultural expression in both regions, the programme offers support, information, advice and networking opportunities for professional development. Grantees both from the UK and the East Asian countries benefit from the inspiration gained from exchanging ideas and sharing their cultural history.

Priority Groups

• Artists;
• Cultural and arts professionals;
• Representatives of art collectives, networks or organisations.

Funding Information

• For individual artists or professionals or, for cultural originations or collectives living in the UK or in any of the five Southeast Asian countries featured in this programme: £2,500 to £7,500.

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be assessed, the application must meet the following conditions:
  • Have both a UK and a Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) based applicant. One as lead applicant and one as counterpart applicant.
  • Project to be completed between January and June 2021.
• The programme particularly invites collaborations that focus on gender, race, ethnicity, disability, inclusion, ageing and other areas of diversity.
• What is the grant for?
  • Time: Time for those from the UK and Southeast Asia to initiate connections together for new digital/online networking and new art and cultural projects through conversations or platforms
    • Online or digital art residencies;
    • Online or digital exhibitions or showcases;
    • Online or digital conferences or webinars;
    • Art and cultural online or digital archives and research;
    • Online or digital toolkits.
  • Face to face versions of the activities mentioned above in home country (subject to any local health restrictions that may be in place).
  • 70% of the grant is an artistic fee, and must be split equally between the Southeast Asia applicant(s), organisation or collective, and the UK applicant(s), organisation or collective. In application, list 70% of the grant requested for this purpose.
  • The remaining 30% can be used as a per diem for those who will be supporting with the project (e.g. if applicants need a graphic designer as don’t have those skills), software (e.g. zoom account), or local travel and accommodation costs that may be required.
• What is the grant not for?
  • International travel and accommodation;
  • Not for academic institutions;
  • Not for funding bodies;
  • Not for Southeast Asian nationals living outside of the five countries mentioned in this call;
  • Not for UK individuals based (living) outside of the United Kingdom, unless temporarily living outside of the United Kingdom but retaining a home address in the United Kingdom and defined by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs as ‘resident the in the UK’.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3dRzRip