Open call: Art Jameel Culture and Climate programme

The new programme supports ambitious arts projects that engage with the climate emergency. It is designed specifically to diverse and increase support for practitioners in the Arab world and to build on findings and key priorities that emerged through the Culture and Climate Summit, a two-day workshop and seminar exploring culture’s role in addressing the climate emergency, jointly organised by Art Jameel and the British Council in March 2023.

The Anhar selection process will see expert juries consider proposals from individual practitioners making new work and instigating community projects through to large-scale international collaborations, via grassroots institutions actioning practical solutions to reduce their carbon footprint.

Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform kicks off with a three-tiered open call that invites individual artists, collectives and cultural organisations based in eligible countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to submit proposals that meaningfully engage with the climate emergency.

The application deadline is 15 December.

The programme aims to:

• Support creative practitioners producing cultural projects that engage with the climate emergency, raise awareness and inspire engagement.
• Support cultural organisations in refitting spaces for energy efficiency and renewable energy use and/or the implementation of processes aimed at tracking and reducing carbon emissions and waste.
• Support experimental and creative approaches to cultural production that centre local, community-based and intersectional perspectives.
• Facilitate peer exchange, stimulate meaningful connections, international and interdisciplinary collaboration while expanding and strengthening a regional network of cultural practitioners engaged with the climate emergency.

Programme tiers

The Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform offers three tiers of awards:

• Tier 1: Awards grants of £1 000 to £5 000 to individual artists and collectives working on climate-related projects and proposals.
• Tier 2: Awards grants of £5 000 to £10 000 to cultural organisations to reduce their carbon and waste footprint through the development and implementation of a decarbonisation strategy, including material works and investments in renewable energy infrastructures.
• Tier 3: Awards grants of £25 000 to £50 000 to support collaborations between UK and MENA artists, collectives, networks and/or cultural organisations seeking to develop a large-scale artistic response to the climate emergency, with at least a component of the project taking place in a MENA country.

Timeline 

• Applications will be assessed and awarded through a rigorous jury process, with committees assigned to each tier jury, made up of established practitioners and experts who are familiar with the regional cultural ecosystem and the nature of such programmes and international collaborations.
• For tiers 1 and 3, successful applicants will be contacted and awarded directly in February 2024, ahead of the list of grantees being announced publicly in March 2024.
• The tier 2 process may include shortlisted applicants being invited in January-February 2024 to discuss their proposals with an expert in decarbonisation strategies for the culture sector, and thus refining their budget and plans, before being subsequently awarded a grant. The list of grantees for tiers 1, 2 and 3 will be announced publicly in March 2024.
• Projects across all tiers are expected to be completed by 15 December 2024.
• The application is to be submitted via an online form that can be found below. Applications can be submitted in English or Arabic, except for Tier 3 which will be submittable in English only. While all applicants will receive an acknowledgement that their application has been received, only successful applicants will be contacted.

Applicants should carefully read the eligibility criteria and FAQs here prior to submitting their applications.

Tier 1 eligibility criteria

Applicants must be based in one or more of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya , Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

- Apply for Tier 1 here.
- View the Tier 1 briefing document here.
- Tier 1: for individual artists and collectives working on climate-related projects and proposals

Tier 2 eligibility criteria

Applicants must be based in an eligible country at the time of application. Countries eligible: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya , Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen.

• Applicants should demonstrate that they are active in and committed to their local creative communities.
• Applicants should demonstrate integrity of purpose and originality of thinking in their work in general and in the projects they are proposing.
• Applicants should prioritise sustainable practices in their proposals, aiming for their projects to minimise environmental impact and work toward carbon neutrality.
• If applicants have received any previous British Council funding, this application must be a new and unrelated proposal/project.

- Apply for Tier 2 grants here.
- View the Tier 2 briefing document here.
- Tier 2: for cultural organisations to reduce their carbon and waste footprint through the development and implementation of a decarbonisation strategy.

Tier 3 eligibility criteria

Organisations must be registered in an eligible country at the time of application. Countries eligible: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya , Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

• Applicants should demonstrate that they are active in and committed to their local creative communities.
• Organisations must have completed at least two full years of public operation. This means they have been open to the public for at least two years- not counting any closures due to the Pandemic or damage due to Force Majeure incidents.
• Annual financial reporting that can be shared upon request.
• If applicants have received any previous British Council funding, this application must be a new and unrelated proposal/project.

- Apply for Tier 3 grants here.
- View the Tier 3 briefing document here.
- Tier 3: for collaborations between UK and MENA artists, collectives, networks and/or cultural organisations seeking to develop a large-scale artistic response to the climate emergency, with at least a component of the project taking place in a MENA country.

View the original call here.