The British Council’s Connect ZA Arts Programme supports, highlights, and extends collaborative cultural exchanges between South Africa and the UK. They work across a wide variety of art forms in order to discover and nurture new and existing talent and connections between young people aged 18 to 35. They’ve been pioneering innovative ways to understand and engage creativity for three successful seasons and, following hot-on-the-heels of the reconceptualization of their visual identity in partnership with Bubblegum Club, are launching their next dynamic and exciting phase through the 2016/17 Creative Open Call.
Whether you are an individual, a small to medium sized creative organisation, or a large scale cultural institution, Connect ZA invites your bold proposal to culminate in a “high quality live, or digital performance, showcase or other public facing event” through the open call titled ‘New Partners, New Projects, New Spaces’. As the call states; “We are looking for a strong mix of projects that may be a combination of more than one art form” but there is particular emphasis on proposals engaging the sectors of live performance and visual art. The call also strongly encourages applications from women in order to try to address issues of their underrepresentation within creative industries.
Connect ZA are eager to back original and potentially ground-breaking new projects that are devised and designed for a contemporary urban context, as well as for the correct age demographic. It is also important that proposals are mutually beneficial for artists, audiences, and participants in both countries and that they are able “to engage and extend reach across multiple digital platforms,” such as social media. There are amounts of up to £3 500, £7 500, and £15 000 available within the three different Creative Categories so, if you have a great idea, but aren’t able to realise it without some financial support, check out the full guidelines here and download the application form here. Take note that applications close on Monday 18 July 2016. Fingers crossed!