Call for applications: South-South Arts Fellowships 2022

The fellowships support individuals, collectives, teams and groups to build long-term professional networks, alliances and collaborations among cultural workers and artists/creative practitioners residing and working in developing economies in Africa (including North Africa), Asia (including West Asia and Central Asia) and the Pacific.

Five fellowships are being offered in 2022. Fellows will be expected to bring an initiative with them which they have already been developing in some way and through which they intend to deepen and strengthen network building over the period of the fellowship.

Selected fellows will work on their proposed initiatives over six months from July to December. They will organise two virtual or hybrid activities during this period.

Fellows will be offered the following forms of support:

• A stipend of $3 000 per fellowship awarded (this stipend is an honorarium for the fellows for their ideas and work on the fellowship activities).
• Feedback on proposals and access to new networks from three advisors to the fellowship programme: Khadija El Bennaoui (Morocco/UAE), Deirdre Prins-Solani (South Africa) and Pooja Sood (India).
• A grant of $3 000 per fellowship for curating and organising one virtual or hybrid activity to develop the proposed idea or initiative. Selected fellows will work on this activity individually. Activities may be inter-regional or intra-regional in scope, i.e:
  • Linking different regions within Africa (note: here, ‘Africa’ includes North Africa) or
  • Linking different regions within Asia (note: here, ‘Asia’ includes West Asia and Central Asia) or
  • Linking different regions within the Pacific or
  • Linking different regions of Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
• An amount of up to $20 000 is available in total for curating and organising up to three inter-regional virtual activities. This budget is shared between all five fellowships. Selected fellows will organise these activities in collaboration with one another.

Fellows will share learnings and findings among themselves. Fellows will also contribute to a public report mapping opportunities, challenges, gaps and needs regarding South-South cultural connectivity.

Applications are open to:

• Individuals, collectives, teams or groups working in arts, culture and/or heritage sectors, who are actively involved in bringing together and creating opportunities for creative practitioners and cultural workers in the Global South. Applicants should be able to demonstrate interest and professional experience in curating, programming and/or organising transnational exchange and collaborations in the focus regions. Note: If you are applying as a collective or team/group, it will be counted as one fellowship.
• Citizens of developing economies in Africa (including North Africa), Asia (including West Asia and Central Asia) and the Pacific. Applicants are expected to be (a) citizens of any of the countries/territories and (b) residing and working in any of these eligible countries/territories. Both conditions must be met.
• Individuals, collectives and teams who are already developing an initiative that responds to a specific gap in South-South connectivity in arts, culture and/or heritage.

How to apply

Applicants are invited to apply with an initiative that addresses a specific gap in South-South cultural exchange. Initiatives proposed should already be in some stage of development. Applications should be made in English.

Applications will be assessed on the quality of the ideas presented and not the basis of proficiency in the English language. Answers to some long-form questions may be given in audio or video format. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a virtual interview. Candidates should read the FAQ and Glossary carefully before applying.

Timeline

• Deadline for applications is 15 May.
• Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place in late May or early June.
• Selected fellows will be informed in early June.
• Initial consultations with fellowship advisors will take place in June.
• The Fellowship runs for six months from July to December (fellows are expected to organise their virtual or hybrid activities within this window of time).

Eligible countries and territories include Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao P.D.R., Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Palestinian territories, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“We are launching this fellowship as our pilot international programme,” LAI said. “We are acutely aware of the limited support available for nurturing wider and deeper connections among cultural workers within the Global South. We are especially interested in proposals that aim to create sustainable links where they would be most meaningful.”

View the original call here.