Call for applications: South-South Arts Fellowships

The programme seeks to support initiatives that enable long-term professional networks, alliances and collaborations among cultural workers and artists/creative practitioners living and working in developing economies including Africa (including North Africa), Asia (including West Asia and Central Asia), and the Pacific.

Interested applicants should apply here before 15 May.

Five fellowships are being offered in 2022 and 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 or linking different regions within 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.
• 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 listed in footnote 1 and (b) to be 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.

Note: Applicants who are applying as a collective or team/group, will be counted as one fellowship.

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 on the basis of proficiency in the English language. Answers to some longform questions may be given in audio or video format. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a virtual interview. Please read the FAQ and Glossary carefully before applying.

Timeline

• Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place in late May/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)

“We are acutely aware of the limited support available for nurturing wider and deeper connections among cultural workers within the Global South,” Living Arts International said. “We are especially interested in proposals that aim to create sustainable links where they would be most meaningful.”

View the original call here.