Aims/priorities: The funding targets arts and cultural organisations who embody cultural democracy through:
- Placing communities at the heart of their creative work.
- Exploring new ways of connecting arts and society, particularly through fostering co-creation between communities, artists, and other partners.
- Supporting people from across their communities to develop their creativity and discover their individual voices.
- Empowering their communities to work together to shape local place, shared identity, and collective agency.
Who can apply? To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be an organisation based in the UK or Germany.
- Be able to demonstrate expertise in social arts practice working with communities.
Cultural Bridge is open to all artforms and will prioritise support for:
- Smaller arts and cultural organisations who do not already receive significant or sustained funding.
- Organisations who empower local communities through their creative work.
- Organisations whose work aligns with the programme aims and place themes.
- Organisations who foster equity, diversity and inclusion through their leadership and practice.
Partnerships must be bi-lateral, including at least one German partner and one UK partner, from any one of the four nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
All organisations need to have a bank account in the organisation’s name, with two signatories.
Applications are welcomed from organisations supporting individual creative practitioners as part of the proposed activity.
The Cultural Bridge programme is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive network. The activity supported, and the workforce of arts and culture organisations funded, should reflect the diversity of the UK and Germany, and as such applications are encouraged from diversity-led organisations and from those from under-represented backgrounds.
Grant amount: The total budget for the 2025-2026 programme is £360,000.
Two tiers of funding are available:
- Tier 1: New Partnerships - £5,000 to £10,000 per partnership.
- Tier 2: Established Partnerships - up to £30,000 per partnership.
The funding is for activity that starts from 1 April 2025 and is completed by 31 March 2026.
Application process: The application window opens on Tuesday 15 October 2024 and closes on Tuesday 26 November 2024. Notification of decisions by Friday 31 January 2025.
Funding guidance is available from 4 July 2024 and organisations are encouraged to develop their collaboration and project proposals before the application window opens.
Matchmaking support will be offered, in advance of the application stage, to help broker new connections between UK and German organisations wishing to find a partner to apply to Tier 1 of the programme.
Deadline: Tuesday 26 November 2024.
Contact information: Email: contact@cultural-bridge.info
Website: Cultural Bridge