Submit Applications for Publishing Grant 2025—26

Projects should pursue an experimental and innovative approach to publishing that can contribute to the production of original ideas and critical thinking.

Benefits

• The winner(s) will be provided a round-trip air ticket in economy class and hotel accommodation in Sharjah to launch their completed project at Focal Point and participate in the talks programme.

Funding Information

• The Foundation will provide a total of 30,000 USD to multiple grantees to support projects that exhibit outstanding intellectual, graphic and material qualities.
• The requested grant amount per individual project must not exceed 15,000 USD.

Eligible Projects

• Only projects that have never been published, at least not with an ISBN and/or for commercial distribution, qualify.

Ineligible Projects

• Projects in the following categories are not eligible for the Publishing Grant:
  • Fiction, drama, poetry and biographies
  • Proposals for exhibition catalogues or monographs associated with another institution or commercial space
  • Projects where funding is intended to cover infrastructure and equipment costs as well as the costs of operating cultural facilities, archives and collections

Eligibility Criteria

• The Publishing Grant is designed for underrepresented practitioners, writers and cultural workers who foreground an experimental approach to content and publishing, and challenge dominant and canonical knowledge systems.
• They should be based in, or working on, the Global South, Indigenous and diasporic communities, or other structurally marginalised positions globally.
• The grant also seeks out independent, non-commercial standalone editorial initiatives and publications that demonstrate thorough knowledge of pertinent topics related to the current theoretical and artistic climate.
• Proposed publications should have a focused theme, topic and location that can feed into pre-existing knowledge and disciplines. The concept and contents should already be fairly well developed at the time of application.
• Submissions from publications that include multiple collaborators and collective efforts are encouraged. Although single-authored publications are also eligible, the majority of those selected in the past were commonly the outcome of collaborative efforts.

Evaluation Criteria

• Feasibility
  • Realistic goals and a workable timeline are imperative. The project must be completed in time to coincide with the launch of Focal Point, Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual art book fair, in November/December 2026.
• Form
  • A research-based and/or experimental approach to art-related topics and formats is encouraged. Possible formats include, but are not limited to, graphic novels, limited-edition artist books, research dossiers, reports, translation of historical materials and reprints.
• Impact
  • Proposed projects must show strong potential to offer new understandings of publishing practices outside of the mainstream. Non-commercial and independent projects that serve as catalysts for expanding research on an understudied topic or that promote diversity of thought, authorship and radical forms of public engagement would be particularly welcome.
• Capacity
  • Applicants should be able to demonstrate existing knowledge and ability to complete their project successfully as well as access to necessary resources outside of the amount of the grant request.

For more information, visit Sharjah Art Foundation.