Open call: Prince Claus Moving Narratives Cycle 2 programme

Moving Narratives is a programme developed in collaboration with the British Council, which supports creative practices committed to moving the world towards equitable and just futures. It seeks to support artists to explore and strengthen creative practices that reconsider historical legacies and explore emancipatory movements. 

The call is designed for experienced artists and cultural practitioners residing in these eligible countries.

Dominant discourses and one-sided worldviews influence the organisation of society, politics and individual life. This can lead to the exclusion of diverse experiences and perspectives, denying space for critical voices and sustaining social inequalities. Creative practices can play a crucial role in challenging the status quo and recentring marginalised narratives. By working with nuanced perspectives that show social and political complexities, artists have the power to expand our understanding of the past and reimagine our visions of the future.

Programme

Each year Moving Narratives brings together 12 socially and politically engaged mid-career artists and cultural practitioners working across diverse mediums and approaches. Different interpretations of the mentorship’s overarching theme are welcomed. 

Supported by four mentors, participants are encouraged to collectively experiment, exchange and develop artistic strategies that address dominant narratives and the inequalities they sustain. The programme invites applications from artists who are active within their local communities, and prioritises practices that focus on intersectional and critical approaches that challenge dominant worldviews and discourses.

To foster conversations and collaborations within the cohort, and to support each artist in their practice, the programme includes workshops, reading groups, guest talks and peer-to-peer review sessions. The mentors guide participants and provide constructive feedback to encourage exploration and to challenge and support their practice. Most of the activities are online, but the cohort comes together twice in person for the Lab Weeks (six-day intensive mentoring sessions). Within the programme, the cohort collectively creates a joint project in the form of a printed publication and online platform.  

Additionally, each participant receives an award of €10 000 (about $ 10 800) to work on the project or body of work outlined in their application. While the grant is not limited to a strict project plan or budget, the participant’s proposed project is used as a baseline for the programme and informs the sessions with the mentors.     

Eligibility

This open call invites applications from individual, experienced artists and cultural practitioners who:  

• Live and work in eligible countries.
• Are artists, cultural practitioners, or creatives whose practice highlights marginalised histories that challenge dominant worldviews. The Prince Claus Fund and British Council hold a broad understanding of arts and culture. Artists and cultural practitioners mean people who have an individual artistic practice. Individuals who are arts managers, facilitators, academic researchers or others, without an individual artistic practice, do not fall under this category, and are not eligible to apply.
• Have between 7 to 15 years of relevant professional experience. Moving Narratives is meant only for individual artists who, regardless of age, meet the professional experience criteria, counting from the date they started engaging in a professional artistic practice to the date of submitting their application.

Note: Due to the nature of the programme, applicants need to be able to communicate in English.

Application

Applicants can apply by submitting an application on the Prince Clause online application platform. The application form includes a set of questions and requires supplementary materials. Do note that:

• Applicants should create an account on the Prince Claus Awards platform and start a new submission for the FELLOWS Award: Moving Narratives.
• Fill in all required fields and attachments. Applicants can work on, and make changes to, the application up until the deadline. Only completed and submitted applications will be considered. Note: Once the application has been submitted, applicants will not be able to make amendments to it.
• Once the application has been submitted on the Prince Claus Awards Platform, applicants should check if they have received an automatic email confirmation. 

The deadline for applications is 16 July 2024 at 5.30pm CEST.

Criteria for selection of applicants

The following criteria are used for assessing applications:  

• Original: The work is innovative and artistically interesting.
• Transformative: The work engages with pressing social and political issues, is challenging and thought-provoking, and aims to create lasting change.
• Context-specific: The work is important in, and relevant to, the local context.
• Inclusive: The work is linked to the ultimate aim of more inclusive societies, connecting people in ways that resist marginalisation, oppression, and division.
• Impactful: The award will make a real difference to the professional development, engagement and impact of the individual’s practice.
• Potential to accelerate: The individual has the potential to become a leader in the field, the work is engaged and focused on relevant social issues within its context.

Read more about the application and selection process here.

“We understand that applicants might have intermittent access to the internet or unstable connections, so please keep this in mind when planning your submission,” Prince Clause said. “We encourage you to apply well before the deadline as our online system can be busy on the date of the deadline and closes automatically on 16 July at 5.30 CEST, and we cannot accept any applications after that point.”

All questions should be submitted via e-mail at [email protected].

View the original call here.