Circular Culture: Fund for the Development of Sustainable Festivals 2023

A culturally sustainable development brings together economic, social, and environmental dimensions and highlights the importance of growth, equity, and the value of culture.

Circular Culture is an initiative of the British Council in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. It provides financial resources and training to promote artistic exchange between Latin American and the Caribbean (LATAC) countries and the United Kingdom through strengthening the offering of cultural festivals and promoting sustainable cultural development. Additionally, Circular Culture is committed to professionalising the LATAC cultural sector and offers a training scheme for festival managers with experts from the United Kingdom to integrate skills into development.

Circular Culture reinforces the commitment to promoting festivals by recognising their importance in the dynamics of cities and the promotion of contemporary artistic creation and the expansion of sustainable practices, always promoting:

• Exchange among local artists, creators, and managers
• Public access to international artists/creators/researchers/scientists
• Opportunities for training technical skills for sustainable development
• Development of knowledge networks
• Global cultural exchange.

Thematic Areas/Supported Sectors

• Circular Culture focuses on cultural festivals within the following sectors and subsectors of culture:
  • Visual arts
  • Film
  • Dance
  • Architecture
  • Design
  • Fashion
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Theatre

Funding Information

• The Circular Culture Fund consists of a £300,000 (GBP) fund and is aimed at cultural and artistic festivals – both in-person and digital – taking place in the countries mentioned and interested in collaborating, showcasing artwork, or engaging in training activities with British professionals, focused on activating a shift in attitudes, narratives, and practices related to a sustainable culture approach.

Components

• The submitted proposal must consist of two main components for its eligibility:
  • Sustainable Operations: The interest lies in advancing the sustainable actions that the festival intends to adopt in its operation to reduce the event’s environmental impact. These actions should consider the main areas of impact for a festival and the intention to commit to the festival’s sustainable development must be described in the proposal.
    • Transportation
    • Food
    • Water
    • Energy
    • Waste management
    • Local flora and fauna
    • Air quality
    • Conscious communication and marketing
  • Cultural exchange with the United Kingdom: The application should detail the proposed cultural collaboration to be carried out by the festival with artist(s)/group(s)/talent from the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales) to be identified and invited by the festival. The collaborations can take the form of:
    • Residencies and training activities (workshops, conferences, symposiums, and meetings).
    • Artistic showcases from the United Kingdom in the country: presentations by artists or talent from the United Kingdom as part of the festival’s program in digital, in-person, or hybrid format.
    • During the collaboration period, festivals are encouraged to involve the local community in cultural exchange with the artists/talent from the United Kingdom and provide access to local diversity.
    • Artistic collaborations that address gender issues in a cross-cutting manner and promote a better understanding of the problems, concepts, and themes surrounding culture and sustainability will be highly valued. They should also involve broad networks, including authorities, universities, research centers, and the artistic community.

Eligibility Criteria

• Requirements to be a beneficiary of the Circular Culture funds:
  • The proposal must demonstrate a commitment to implementing sustainable practices that reduce the festival’s environmental impact.
  • A partnership with a United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales) counterpart is mandatory, and a letter of intent to collaborate from them should be included in the application. It is the responsibility of the festival applicant to establish contact and reach an agreement with the British partner. The British Council does not maintain a central artist directory, and festivals have the freedom to approach relevant artists or organizations.
  • The British partner should actively contribute to the festival activities, such as performances, talks, workshops, etc. The involvement will depend on the nature of the intended activity within the festival.
  • The proposed projects can be multidisciplinary, encompassing at least one of the disciplines mentioned in the call (visual arts, film, dance, architecture, design, fashion, literature, music, or theatre).
  • Only individuals who can issue tax receipts and whose main activity is related to the cultural area of the main product presented in the proposal may participate in this call.

Responsibility

• The projects must be accountable starting from the submission of the impact report of the activities to be sent to the British Council, which must include the following mandatory items:
  • Photographic/videographic documentation
  • Activity report with the number of impacted audiences (meetings, visits, workshops, presentations, etc.)
  • Report demonstrating the scope and consequences of implementing sustainable cultural practices.
• As the sole and exclusive responsible party for the proper execution and submission of the reports, the project must respond to all inquiries and requests made by the audit conducted by the British Council.

Conditions of Participation

• Participation in this open call selection process is free of charge.
• Only individuals who can issue tax receipts and whose main activity is related to the cultural area of the main product presented in the proposal may participate in this call.
• Compliance with the conditions and requirements of the applicants will be verified when the selected candidates and the procedures for receiving financial support are announced, upon submission of the documents that will be requested by the British Council at the appropriate time.
• Registration implies the applicant’s irrevocable and irreversible adherence to all the rules of this open call.
• Participation in this open call selection process implies the personal and non-transferable responsibility of the applicants and/or their legal representatives for the accuracy of the information provided.

For more information, visit British Council.