Open call: Hii Stage production and touring grants in Kenya

The grants will support artists with quality original projects in the areas of music, the performing arts and cinema to take their productions on tour across the network of Creative Arts Spaces in Kenya (CASiK) comprising performing arts spaces in five Kenyan counties: Kisumu, Nakuru, Nairobi, Mombasa and Lamu.

The project is supported by the French Embassy in Kenya through the French government’s Creation Africa programme.

Overview

Hii Stage supports the production and circulation of high-quality, original Kenyan work in the performing arts, film and music through collaboration with fully equipped cultural venues.

Through grants of up to €15 000, the fund will enable creative individuals, collectives and organisations to refine their original production for showcasing in at least three fully equipped cultural venues from the CASiK network.

Practitioners in theatre, film, live music (vocal, instrumental and deejaying), spoken word, poetry, storytelling, dialogue, dance, comedy, magic, puppetry/pantomime and multimedia and transdisciplinary arts are eligible to apply.

Projects awarded funding under this programme must be original works that contain African social, cultural and/or political themes, and employ strategies that encourage local communities to access cultural spaces.

All proposed projects must be implemented between March and August 2024.

Applicant eligibility

• Applicants must live and work in Kenya.
• Applicants must be in the performing or creative arts industry in Kenya.
• Proposed projects should portray evidence and themes that speak to African culture and/or history.
• Applicants must have pre-ideated projects that are in the execution phase.

Application review process

The review process takes place after the closure of the open call window and will feature five stages:

• Initial sieve: The initial stage involves a preliminary review of all received applications to ensure they meet the basic eligibility criteria and submission requirements.
• Selection panel shortlisting: Next, the selection panel will narrow down the pool of applicants based on predetermined criteria to shortlist the most promising candidates for further consideration.
• Pitch stage: Shortlisted applicants will present their project proposals to the selection panel to share their creative vision and the potential impact of their project.
• Due diligence: This phase involves an evaluation of all shortlisted candidates, which includes a thorough review of their proposed project plans, budgets, timelines and the overall feasibility of the presented ideas.
• Contracting: In this final stage, the successful applicants will enter a contractual agreement with the project partners.

Applicant obligations post receiving a grant

• Submitting a mid-grant progress report and final report as well as sharing consistent updates detailing the project’s fund use.
• Successful applicants require a dedicated Kenya shillings bank account to receive the funds disbursed to them.
• The grant will be disbursed in tranches according to the project work plan. For planning purposes, the applicants should note that the final 20% will be disbursed after project completion and approval of the grantees final report.

Application

Apply here. You will be redirected to create a user account before proceeding to fill out your application.

The application deadline is 20 December 2023.

Important links

More information about Hii Stage is available here.

View the original call here.