Deadline: March 8, 2019.

The British Council is aiming to increase connections between the UK creative sectors and young creative professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa. As well as building connections, we aim to expand knowledge of contemporary African art in the UK.

With this in mind, we are seeking expressions of interest from UK based arts organisations, curators or programmers working in any of the following art forms – Visual Arts, Literature, Music, Theatre, Dance, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Film – to travel to Sub-Saharan Africa to connect with the local contemporary art sectors, and undertake their own professional research to be shared with a wider UK sector in their chosen field. The trips should take place between April 2019 and March 2020.

Research may take the form of meeting with potential artists and partners; finding out more about your chosen art form’s ecosystem in a country or countries; gaining an understanding of art trends in Sub-Saharan Africa; meeting arts organisations and/or attending events and festivals with a view to programming or curating work in the UK.

 

ELIGIBILITY

The successful applicant is likely to:
• Be based at UK arts organisation or individual with a proven track record of working
internationally
• Have a minimum of 3 years professional experience in their sector
• Demonstrate experience in working with international partners to deliver collaborative arts programmes
• Have a basic knowledge of their chosen art sector in the region which is being visited
(although the British Council will provide support in putting together a detailed
programme)
• Demonstrate a clear rationale for the research they want to undertake
• Demonstrate a commitment to our British Council values
• Commit to programme a UK public forum to share/disseminate the research findings, this can either be done online or in person
• Have a valid passport for travel
• Have a valid visa for travel (if required)
• Have valid travel insurance
• Be able to travel between April 2019 and March 2020.

 

GRANT

The British Council will award up to nine grants of £2,500 (each) to proposals to undertake research of your chosen artistic sector & travel in the Sub-Saharan Region between April 2019 and March 2020. We will be considering a geographical spread across the continent when assessing applications.

 

COUNTRIES COVERED

The countries covered under the programme (in which the British Council operates) are: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

 

APPLICATION

If you would like to apply for this research grant, please submit a PDF Expression of Interest. This should comprise:
• Up to 2 examples of key projects and/or programmes that you feel represent your work
• A short statement (max 800 words) outlining why you are applying for this research grant and clearly state the following:
I. State the country or countries you would like to focus and conduct your research
II. State how your research proposal aligns with or addresses at least two of the ‘Art
Connects Us objectives
III. State what you hope to gain from the experience and outline some of the potential
practical applications of the research into a tangible programme or project.
• Activity plan; identify the main stages of your activity during the research visit.
• CV (up to 2 pages)
Submissions should be in a single PDF file and not to exceed 2MB in size. These should be emailed to Mabel.Kebirungi@britishcouncil.or.ug by 18:00 (GMT) on 8 March 2019.
If you’re disabled or have a physical or mental health condition that makes it difficult for you travel on your own, a separate grant for a Personal Access Assistant will be discussed on a case by case basis.

 

OFFICIAL LINK

 

Sub-Saharan Africa Research Grants