Call for Applications: Wijhat Grant Program

The program provides grants to artists and cultural actors from the Arab region to support their travels within the Arab region or to any destination abroad. It thereby contributes to acquainting others with the artistic and cultural production from this region while enabling the grantees to present their works to new audiences and to engage in diverse cultural exchange experiences.

The program does not stipulate a specific duration for a travel or stay abroad, but it only covers the below-mentioned expenses for the period of the activity or event stated in the application.

Funding Information

• Grant amount up to €7,000.

Costs Covered

• Travel tickets
• Visa costs
• Accommodation
• Partial coverage of living expenses
• Internal transportation

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be from an Arab country (regardless of ethnic affiliation and citizenship status).
• They may reside in the Arab region or abroad.
• The country of departure or arrival for an intended travel must be in the Arab region.
• The grant is available for individuals as well as for groups (bands, folk troupes, associations, work teams, theatre/dance companies, etc — see the section on applying as a group).
• The grant targets:
  • Artists of all disciplines: live arts, visual arts, literature, music, etc.
  • Cultural actors, whether working independently or as members or staff of cultural initiatives or organizations.
  • Examples of potential grantees: playwrights and theater directors, musicians, creative writers, cultural managers, cultural researchers, curators, etc.
  • The host may not apply on behalf of the invitee. Every artist/group must submit their own application along with the required supporting documents. The host may help an artist/group fill out the application. However, the form itself must be completed by the artist/group, express their point of view and be submitted by them as well.
  • Applications from individuals under 18 years old will be accepted on the condition that the application is accompanied by a written letter of consent from a parent or guardian.
  • Recipients of a Wijhat grant may not apply again for the mobility grant until at least 16 months (the equivalent of four rounds) have passed since receiving a grant. This period is calculated from the date on which that grant was announced.
  • Recipients of any other type of grant from Culture Resource (apart from another mobility grant) may still apply for a grant from the Wijhat program.

Selection Criteria

• For each round, all applications submitted by the submission deadline are screened based on the applicant’s eligibility and the fulfillment of the application requirements explained in the application guidelines, including the thorough completion of application form and inclusion of the required supporting documents.
• All applications that meet all the requirements are submitted to a three-member independent jury, whose members change with each round.
• The jury selected for each round consists of cultural actors or artists with recognized expertise in the Arab and international cultural scenes from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
• The jury members assess the applications and select the grantees on the basis of a set of established criteria that are applied in each round, considering mainly applicants’ intended destinations and types of activities in which they plan to participate.

For more information, visit Culture Resource.