West Africa Arts Fund

Application Deadline: March 7th 2018

British Council is launching a West Africa Arts Fund to create stronger connections and collaborations between UK and West African festivals across a range of art forms. These connections will be facilitated through reciprocal programming of young, emerging artists between UK and West African festivals, professional development of artists and festival management teams, exchange visits between UK and West Africa and other collaborative activities between festivals in UK and West Africa.

British Council is aiming to support up to 10 projects across UK/West Africa and across art forms.

British Council have an interest in festivals in the following art forms: Music, Film, Performing and Visual Arts, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Literature. We are also particularly interested in festivals that use digital tools innovatively for production or distribution.

The fund is open to festivals in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and the UK who wish to programme international artists or work on a collaborative project. All projects must have a UK-West Africa connection.

Expected Outcomes

• Stronger connections between UK and West African festivals.
• Knowledge, artistic practice, skills and networks of participating artists and festival managers/teams are developed and contribute towards greater prosperity.

The Fund:

• The maximum grant amount will be 10,000 GBP (or the equivalent in local currency).
• Proposals that demonstrate higher Value For Money and require less than the maximum grant amount will be more likely favourably considered.
• The maximum grant amount will be up to 70% of your total budget of the specific activity you are seeking support for.
• Selected festivals will need to attend webinars organised by British Council on modules including Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Child Protection, Fundraising and Evaluation as a requirement to access the grant.

Eligibility Requirements:

The application is open to:

• Festivals that take place in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone or United Kingdom (although artists in other West African countries can participate in the festivals)
• Festivals taking place between June 2018 and March 2019.
• Festivals that have held a minimum of two editions as of 31 March 2018.
• Festivals that present one or more of the following art forms: Music, Film, all Performing and Visual Arts, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Literature.

We are interested in festivals that are seeking support for the following type of activities which must have a UK/West Africa element:

• Presentation of UK/West African artists (through showcasing (performance, readings, screening etc), facilitation of workshops, seminars, panel discussions, outreach/community events etc.)
• UK/West Africa festival co-production of events
• Professional development for artists or festival management teams (reciprocally)

*Selection will be based on the above criteria. Also note that we will be trying to ensure a balance across art forms.*

Timeline:

 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the British Council West Africa Arts Festival Fund 2018