In a bid to foster creativity, cultural exchange, and the showcasing of contemporary arts, the British Council’s Sub-Saharan Africa Arts programme has unveiled its highly anticipated 2024/25 Festival Connect Fund.
This fund is crafted to foster innovative connections and exchanges among festivals across Africa and internationally. It is also poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the arts landscape in the coming years.
The Festival Connect Fund invites grant proposals from festivals representing a spectrum of art forms, including Creative Technology, Dance, Film, Literature, Music, Theatre, and multi-disciplinary arts. Acknowledging the rich diversity of festivals, the program encourages applications from organizations hosting annual, triennial, or biennial events, whether in person or online.
The program recognizes festivals as living embodiments of traditions, values, and dreams within communities. It acknowledges their essential role in stimulating local economies, fostering social connections, and enriching the lives of attendees. Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, the British Council provides a unique opportunity for African festivals to apply for grants aimed at collaboration, increased access to regional and international artists, as well as the facilitation of experimentation and showcasing.
To be eligible for consideration, festivals must have a minimum operational history of two biennales or three editions, encompassing both physical and digital manifestations.
The Festival Connect Fund strategically aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Create opportunities between festival peers in Africa and internationally that can lead to future creative collaborations, co-commissions, and partnership projects.
- Support festival-making and artistic expressions including community engagement during festivals that can lead to a meaningful social and economic impact.
- Provide space for experimentation with creative technology (digital festivals included) to develop new experiences.
- Build new cross-regional collaborations focused on access to the market and the potential of festivals in bridging cultures in Africa and internationally.
- Improve the festival value chain including targeting tour-ready work and supporting the professionalisation of festival management through capacity-building.
- Support mobility for festival directors, curators, and managers within Africa to support professional exchanges and development.
- Develop data-driven innovation and research into the festival sector across Africa – to inspire innovations from creators in artistic work, audience experiences, or research products and services that use/generate data.
The British Council anticipates the Festival Connect Fund to yield significant strategic outcomes in the upcoming years, including:
- New festival partnerships and exchanges developed, and existing ones strengthened between festivals in Africa and/or the United Kingdom (UK), artists, curators, and managers.
- Increased public engagement through access to regional and international artists.
- African festivals connecting to showcase work to support collaborative projects.
- The development of a network of festival curators and managers and represented festivals across the region.
- Access to data-driven research on the festival sector in Africa to foster an understanding of festivals in operation in the region and strengthen collaborations, engagements, and also networks in the wider festival ecosystem.
- Shape communities, catalyse artistic innovation, and contribute to social impact.
The event would be a multifaceted celebration of Lagos’ cultural revival, featuring public art, workshops, a street art festival, and exhibitions. Attendees would also get to witness the cityscape transforming into a living canvas as Nigeria’s top urban artists painted the town with their awe-inspiring creations. Additionally, participants could acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to enhance their brand and excel in the business aspects of their craft.
The call further invites festivals that involve all art forms from the following countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. According to the announcement, a funding pool of £200,000 is accessible for festivals in these eligible nations, facilitating collaborations, exchanges, mobility, and showcasing, with funding scales ranging from £10,000 to a maximum of £40,000 per application.
Applications can be submitted Here
