British Council Festival Connect Fund

The Festival Connect Fund seeks grant proposals from festivals across various art forms such as Creative Technology, Dance, Film, Literature, Music, Theatre, and/or multi-disciplinary arts. They acknowledge the broad diversity of festivals and in this regard welcome applications from festival organisations operating either annual, triennial, or biennial festival programmes both face-to-face and online.

The programme recognises the role of festivals in Africa as an embodiment of the traditions, values, and dreams of a place and its people as well as a catalyst to stimulate local economies, foster social connections, and enrich the lives of those who attend. In a world marked by rapid change, festivals remain essential in preserving the spirit and vitality of communities across Africa. It is against this backdrop, that they are providing an opportunity for festivals in Africa to apply for grants to collaborate, increase access for their audiences to both regional and international artists, and provide opportunities for experimentation and showcasing. Festivals that have been in operation for at least two biennales or three editions inclusive of both physical and digital editions are encouraged to apply.

Objectives of the Festival Connect Fund

The objectives of the Festival Connect Fund are to:

• 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.

Funding Information

• A total of £200,000 is available for festivals in the eligible countries to support collaborations, exchanges, mobility, and showcasing on scales ranging from £ 10,000 – £ 40,000 maximum per application.
• A maximum of two applications will be accepted per festival.
• There are three tiers of funding available.
  • Tier one: Festivals can apply for grants to the value of £10,000.
  • Tier two: Festivals can apply for grants of no less than £10,000 but not exceeding £20,000.
  • Tier three: Festivals can apply for grants of no less than £20,000 but not exceeding £40,000. Festivals applying for tier three grants must be able to demonstrate their capacity to manage grants and provide supporting evidence with their applications.

Outcomes of the Festival Connect Fund

They expect the Festival Connect Fund to help achieve the following strategic outcomes between 2024 – 2027:

• 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 networks in the wider festival ecosystem.
• Shape communities, catalyse artistic innovation, and contribute to social impact.

Activities

Festivals can apply for the following activities:

• commissioning, co-production, development, or presentation of new or remounted work from across countries in Africa and internationally. These may include live/in-person and digital components.
• community engagement programme /arts events alongside the festival
• other associated activities including mobility and travel to support festival development, partnership building etc. that support the festival programme.
• administrative and technical costs towards managing/producing the festival, up to 30% of the grant amount applied for.

Criteria

• This call is open to festivals engaging with all art forms in the following countries:
  • Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
• If an individual or creative is interested in participating in a festival, it is recommended that they get in touch with a festival of interest to apply on their behalf.
• Applicants are required to have enabled their own connections with the artists or festivals they would like to work with. British Council will not be facilitating these connections.

For more information, visit British Council.