Call Open for SSA Arts Cultural Exchange

Deadline: 08-Sep-21

Calls are now open for the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Arts Cultural Exchange to provide grants to cultural organizations, festivals, artists, and creative between the countries of SSA and the UK to create art, build networks, collaborate, and develop markets and share artists’ work with audiences.

They have always supported international collaboration through their work in arts and culture, but as travel becomes more challenging due to the Covid-19 pandemic and with ongoing questions about the sustainability of international travel in the light of the climate crisis, they’re now looking to facilitate that collaboration digitally.

Their new Cultural Exchange Open Call, building on previous open calls related to mobility, exchange and art making launches on 26 July 2021, supports organisations and individuals in SSA and the UK to develop new ways of working internationally – allowing cultural exchange to flourish despite restrictions on global movement. They will prioritize projects which contribute to new narratives between countries of SSA and the UK. By this they mean projects that highlight / amplify less heard stories and perspectives of SSA in the UK and the UK in SSA.

Categories

Individuals and organisations in participating countries (see eligibility criteria below) can apply for grants in three categories:

Research: Grants to undertake research between SSA and UK arts and creative sectors. Research may take the form of meeting with potential arts partners; finding out more about the arts ecosystem in a particular country; gaining an understanding of artistic trends; meeting artists and/or attending events and festivals.
New Connections: Grants to support new or early-stage collaborations between artists, arts professionals and partners in SSA and the UK. Projects can include research and development but must include at least one public event, online and/or in-person (in line with COVID regulations in country).
New Art Co-Creation: Grants to support larger-scale collaborative projects by individuals or organisations in SSA and the UK. Projects should result in new art being created and shared with audiences online or face to face. Applicants should already have established working relationships with their partners and a track record of delivering collaborative projects.

Funding Information

Research: Grants up to £5,000
New Connections: Grants between £5,000-£10,000
New Art Co-Creation: £20,000-£30,000

Eligible Countries

Research: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales), Zambia, Zimbabwe
Both the New Connections and New Art Co-Creation require having one Sub-Saharan Africa and one UK partner.
New Connections: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales), Zambia, Zimbabwe
New Art Co-Creation: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales)

Eligibility Criteria

The call for applications is open to:
- artists,
- arts organisations,
- festivals,
- arts professionals
- creative sector researchers
Working across all art forms (Architecture, Design and Fashion, Film, Literature, Music, Theatre and Dance, Visual Art).
The call-out is open to artists, cultural professionals, festivals, creative sector researchers working across all artforms/disciplines working with audiences predominantly from 18-35 years.
Applications may only be made in the eligible countries. There is no preference whether the lead partner that applies is in Sub Saharan Africa or the UK. Partner organisations are seen as mutual applicants.
The grant will be paid to one organisation, however, to ensure equitable distribution of funds between partner organisations, the budget should ensure a split of around 50% / 50% of the grant award between 2 partner organisations, or no more than 60% / 40%.
Diversity: projects working primarily with Women, LBGTQ+ and/or Disabled artists will be favourably scored under the diversity section of the application.
Artforms/disciplines: Literature, Visual Arts, Music, Film (including Gaming, Virtual and Augmented Reality), Theatre and Dance, Architecture, Fashion, Design.