Call for Applications: Catalyst Grant Program (Zimbabwe)

The progeam offers funding for early-stage and experimental artistic projects. The Catalyst Grant has three main components:

• Research and Insights: For artists, cultural professionals, and creative sector researchers to conduct research in Zimbabwe, between Zimbabwe and the UK, and/or between Zimbabwe and another African country’s creative sectors. This may include travel for scoping purposes to build new connections as part of a long-term programme’s development, though it should not be contingent on it.
• Catalytic Experimental Artistic Projects: For individuals or collaborative teams in Zimbabwe, other African countries, and/or the UK to develop innovative artistic projects. Supported projects must produce at least one publicly available output.
• Collaborative Artmaking: For artists, creatives, and cultural professionals to collaborate on artistic projects that will result in new artwork shared with audiences online or in person in Zimbabwe and the UK.

Objectives

• Catalyst grants aim to foster new connections, new collaborations and new artistic work between creative sector players, through which lay a foundation for long-term relationships among artists, creative practitioners, and art and cultural organisations, hubs, networks, and collectives through engaging digitally and/or face to face.
• The grant also aims to support new connections, new collaborations and partnerships between the creative sector and British Council.

Themes

• They encourage proposals responding to the following themes for this grant call:
  • Innovation and Technology
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Diaspora
  • Identity & Youth Culture

Scope

• The scope of a project might be simply to collaborate on a piece of art, a film, piece of writing or music, or could include any of the following:
  • Research and development of future project ideas
  • Residencies, exhibitions, showcases, workshops, performances, screening programmes, storytelling projects
  • Projects that focus on or include digital innovation (such as projects which combine art with technology in a new or different way)
  • Mobility to attend arts events, conferences, panels and talks
  • Presenting an arts event, conference, panels and talks etc
  • Creative use of archives

Focus Areas

• Proposed projects must be projects for the arts, cultural or creative sector(s) within or across any of the following art forms:
  • Film
  • Literature
  • Visual Arts
  • Theatre and dance (including circus)
  • Architecture, design & fashion (including craft)
  • Music

Funding Information

• This grant of up to USD 5,000 offers flexibility, enabling research, experimentation, and project development.

Eligibility Criteria

• The grants are open to individual practitioners, arts and cultural organisations, large or small, in Zimbabwe. If the proposed project is clearly shared between two individuals/organisations, then only one of the individuals/organisations can apply for the grant.
• Individuals or organisation with at least 1 -5 years’ experience in the arts and culture sector.
• Organisation applicants should be registered in Zimbabwe.
• Individual applicants should be Zimbabwean nationals or Zimbabwean national based/living inside of the United Kingdom unless temporarily living but retaining a home address in the United Kingdom.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Funding bodies are not eligible.

For more information, visit British Council.