British Counsel Connect : FestivalConnect 2020 (Deadline: 05 Feb 2020)

British Counsel Connect : FestivalConnect 2020 (Deadline: 05 Feb 2020)

FestivalConnect 2020 is open to festivals in the UK and SSA*. It facilitates connections, exchanges and showcases contemporary arts between UK and SSA festivals across art forms and at a scaled ambition. We believe festivals are unique environments and make for condensed and intense experiences, and we would like to see ambitious and experimental projects fostered through this call. This requires a partnership between two festivals, one in SSA and one in the UK, but does not necessarily have to take place at both festivals, or it could be programming new art or creative work by young international artists.*see eligible countries below

WEBINARS

Join us for a FestivalConnect webinar where you will find out more about this open call with: the kind of projects we are looking for, the criteria for application, an application walkthrough, and lastly, a question and answer session. Both webinars will be recorded – with links added below 3 days after recording.

• 13 December – Click to see webinar recording . See Frequently Asked Questions document link below.
• 15 January (12PM GMT, 2PM CAT, 3PM EAT)– Click here to register 

SSA ARTS PROGRAMME – WHY FESTIVALS? 

Festivals are vibrant artistic platforms – they are meeting points, and a hive of activity for people to network, exchange skills, share ideas, and each other’s art with wide and varied audiences. Across SSA and the UK, we engage and work with festivals in different ways; encourage sharing of knowledge, build intelligence on festival models and exchange and offer opportunities to showcase and collaborate across art form and countries. This provides audiences with fresh content and access to contemporary African and British art and artists. We do this through engaging with young festival leadership, support a digital arts residency in partnership with several festivals, and through our FestivalConnect open call.

THERE ARE TWO STREAMS YOU CAN APPLY TO: 

• Festival to Festival– Supporting exchange between Festivals who would benefit from connecting and sharing with each other, creatively and professionally.
• Festival to Artist & Creatives – Supporting festivals to programme artists and creatives from SSA and the UK, so more SSA and UK 18-35-year-old’s have access to take part, collaborate and showcase their creative work with audiences of that country.

FESTIVALCONNECT REQUIREMENTS: 

• Your proposal value should be between 10,000 – 20,000 GBP (or the equivalent in local currency)
• A confirmed partnership or booking between festivals, organisations or artists
• Proposals must be festival led
• Your proposal must address one or more of the expected outcomes
• Your proposal must have one partner in SSA and one in the UK
• If you are proposing to programme artists, the artist needs to come from the reciprocating country (ie UK or SSA)
• The activity should take place between May 2020 and May 2021
• The festivals involved should have presented a minimum of three iterations of its festival
• Your project should attract an 18 and 35 years old audience
• Artists programmed must be between 18 and 35 years old
• Open to festivals, biennales, art fairs or large-scale exhibitions

East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Southern Africa: Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

West Africa: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leonne, Senegal

UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales

The British Council aims to promote the work of the unique generation of excellent disabled artists, disabled-led companies, inclusive arts organisations and festivals. You are able to indicate disability arts in your application and to insert additional budget items over and above the 10 000-20 000GBP budget in alignment with your requirements. For more information on our Disability Arts please visit – Disability Arts International .

• Foster stronger connections between the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa festivals to share best practice, festival led models and collaborations.
• Increase the festivals ability to programme international contemporary art and share this with young audiences in the UK and/or SSA.
• Increase knowledge, professional and creative skills and networks of participating artists and/or festival managers/teams.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND APPLY