Deadline: 15-Sep-20
Culture Resource is currently accepting applications for its 2020 Wijhat program with an aim to contribute to raising awareness of arts and culture from the Arab region, both regionally and internationally, by supporting the regional or international travels of artists and cultural actors from the region.
The program offers artists the opportunity to take part in cultural events and activities and present their work to diverse audiences in wider regional and/or international contexts, to exchange knowledge and expertise with peers, and/or to build their professional capacities.
Culture Resource aspires to make this support available to artists and cultural actors from all parts of the Arab region while ensuring geographic and gender diversity as much as possible. Wijhat (Destinations) is a program developed by Culture Resource to address these concerns, by merging the Mawa3eed and Tajwaal programs.
Funding Information
It is designed to serve artists and cultural actors in the Arab region by offering grants of up to 8,000 US Dollars to support travel both within and outside the Arab region, thereby enabling the grantees to present their works to new audiences and to engage in new and diverse inter- and intra-Arab cultural exchange experiences.
The program offers 25 to 30 grants per year in three rounds. The support covers:
- Ticket costs
- Visa costs
- Accommodation and partial support for living expenses
- A recommendation letter from Culture Resource to the relevant embassy in order to support the visa application, if necessary.
What Activities are covered by the Program?
The program covers all activities that offer potential beneficiaries opportunities to develop their skills and capacities, and to present their works to new audiences and potential partners who could have a positive impact on their future professional development. Such activities include:
- Artistic and cultural festivals
- Artistic residencies
- Forums, conferences, and symposia
- Artistic and creative production workshops
- Training and capacity building workshops
How are Grantees Selected?
- For each round, all applications submitted by the submission deadline are screened based on the applicant’s eligibility and the fulfillment of the application requirements explained in the application guidelines, including the thorough completion of application form and inclusion of the required supporting documents.
- All applications that meet all the requirements are submitted to a three-member independent jury, whose members change with each round.
- The jury selected for each round consists of cultural actors or artists with recognized expertise in the Arab and international cultural scenes from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. Geographic and gender diversity are taken into consideration when selecting the jury members.
- The jury members assess the applications and select the grantees on the basis of a set of established criteria that are applied in each round, considering mainly applicants’ intended destinations and types of activities in which they plan to participate.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be from an Arab country, regardless of racial or ethnic affiliation or citizenship status
- Applicant does not necessarily have to reside in an Arab country, but the country of departure or arrival must be an Arab country
- The grant is available for groups as well as individuals
- The program targets artists from all disciplines: visual arts, performance arts, literature, music, etc.
- The program targets cultural actors whether working independently or as members or staff of cultural initiatives or organizations
- Applicants must be at least 18 years old; otherwise, applications must be submitted by an adult on their behalf, with written consent from their parents or guardians.
Application Rules
- Applications are accepted throughout the year. They are evaluated three times a year, as outlined in the program schedule.
- Each application is approved based on the particular activity mentioned in the application. In the event that the intended travel does not take place – due to reasons including but not limited to personal or health reasons, the inability to obtain a visa, or the cancellation of the activity- the grant is cancelled and annulled and may not be used to take part in any other activity. The grant may be reallocated in certain cases to other activities, if a written request is submitted, reviewed and approved by the program. The program has the full authority to accept or reject a request as the original rules specify that the grant should not be used for activities other than those mentioned in the accepted application.
- In case the grant is cancelled, the program will only cover the visa costs and any expenses already made before the grant cancellation. The grantee shall refund the remaining grant amount and installments received.
- The grantee is solely responsible for obtaining a visa for the country to which she/he intends to travel. Culture Resource shall write a recommendation letter to the concerned embassy to support the visa application, should a grantee request such a letter.
- The travel date may be at least a few weeks after the results are announced. For example, a person applying for the February round may want to take part in an activity that takes place in March or in November. However, the grant is only valid for 12 months from the results announcement date, meaning that the actual trip must take place within 12 months after the results are announced.
- The partial “subsistence allowance” (which may be up to 20% of the total grant amount) is estimated by Culture Resource. This amount is only considered as travel support and may not necessarily cover all the living expenses during travel.
- The program does not stipulate a specific duration for the applicant’s intended travel or stay abroad, but it only covers the expenses of the event/activities mentioned in the application for which the grantee received the grant to participate in.
Applications that are incomplete or lack the required supporting documents shall not be considered.
Application Instructions
- Fill in the application form in Arabic and e-mail it to the address given on the website.
- Clearly express the purpose of the trip and how it fits the aims of the program.
- Applicants must have a clear schedule and a clear idea of what they expect to produce/accomplish and the particular activities they intend to participate in.
- Applicants may not submit more than one application within one round.
- Recipients of a Wijhat grant from Culture Resource may not apply for another mobility grant for 16 months (equivalent of 4 rounds) after receiving their grant. This period is calculated from the date on which that grant was announced. Recipients of Wijhat may still apply to any other type of grant from Culture Resource during the 16 months period.
Required Attachments
- An official invitation from a partner or host in the country of destination. (Note: In the event of the lack of a formal invitation, the application may still be accepted and assessed, but on the condition that the applicant provides another proof of acceptance, in principle, to take part in the intended activity).
- Photocopy of passport (the first two pages).
- A detailed budget for the trip.
- The program of the intended activity (i.e. a program of the festival or conference schedule) should the program be available at the time of application.
- A detailed CV for individual applicants, or a bio and an introduction to/description of the applying group. In both cases, the application should include a list of samples of previous works.
- Previous works that are in digital form (text or visual material) can be sent in one of the following ways: as a single PDF file, Word or Zipped file (not exceeding 4 MB), or as 4 JPEG files (of no more than 1 MB per file). If the previous works are audio or audiovisual recordings, include the website links where these works can be found.
Note: Applications that do not include the required supporting documents or that do not meet the eligibility criteria will be eliminated and will not be submitted to the jury.
For more information, visit https://mawred.org/grants-opportunities/supporting-artists-creativity/wijhat/?lang=en#1551781596878-a5359d30-121c