Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy) 2023 Wijhat Grant for Arab Artists and Cultural Actors in Beirut, Lebanon

Arab artists and cultural actors face major challenges when it comes to traveling within the Arab region or abroad for professional purposes. Foremost among them are insufficient funding to cover travel expenses, difficulties in obtaining visas and lack of opportunities to network with organizations that could potentially become partners in the creative processes in this region. Such problems hamper the artists’ prospects for career development and the acquisition of wider audiences for their creative output. They also narrow the scope for collaboration and exchanges of ideas and expertise with their peers in the region, for the exposure of artists’ works internationally, and for cultural and professional exchange opportunities with peers outside the Arab region.

• Table of Content
• About Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy)
• Culture Resource Wijhat Grant
• Aim and Benefits of Culture Resource Wijhat Grant
• Requirements for Culture Resource Wijhat Grant Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Culture Resource Wijhat Grant
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy)

Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy) is a regional, non-profit organization founded in 2003 that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchange within the region and beyond. The work of Culture Resource is based on an appreciation of the value of the diverse cultural heritage within the Arab region, and a belief in the critical role of culture in the development of civil society, the importance of access to culture for all, and the rights of artists to freedom of expression. Culture Resource seeks to fulfill its mission to support artists from ... continue reading

Culture Resource Wijhat Grant

Aim and Benefits of Culture Resource Wijhat Grant

To participate in:

• From a country in the Arab region to another country in the Arab region
• From a country outside the Arab region to a country in the Arab region
• From a country in the Arab region to a country outside this region

The program provides grants of up to €7,000 to artists and cultural actors from the Arab region to support their travels within the Arab region or to any destination abroad. It thereby contributes to acquainting others with the artistic and cultural production from this region while enabling the grantees to present their works to new audiences and to engage in diverse cultural exchange experiences.

Wijhat offers 25 to 30 grants a year in three rounds. The funding covers ticket costs, visa costs, accommodation, internal transportation, and partial coverage of living expenses. Culture Resource estimates the amount allocated for the partial support for living expenses which should be regarded as travel support rather and should not be presumed to cover living expenses in full during the travel period.

Culture Resource can also provide a recommendation letter to the relevant embassy in order to support a grantee’s visa application, if necessary. This would be arranged after the grant contract is signed.

The program does not stipulate a specific duration for a travel or stay abroad, but it only covers the above-mentioned expenses for the period of the activity or event stated in the application.

Requirements for Culture Resource Wijhat Grant Qualification

• Individuals or groups
• Artists of all artistic disciplines (performing arts, visual arts, literature, music, etc.)
• Cultural actors (working independently or members/staff of cultural initiatives/organizations)

From where to where?

• From a country in the Arab region to another country in the Arab region
• From a country outside the Arab region to a country in the Arab region
• From a country in the Arab region to a country outside this region

Interview date, Process and Venue for Culture Resource Wijhat Grant

• For each round, all applications submitted by the submission deadline are screened based on the applicant’s eligibility and the fulfillment of the application requirements explained in the application guidelines, including the thorough completion of application form and inclusion of the required supporting documents.
• All applications that meet all the requirements are submitted to a three-member independent jury, whose members change with each round.
• The jury selected for each round consists of cultural actors or artists with recognized expertise in the Arab and international cultural scenes from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
• The jury members assess the applications and select the grantees on the basis of a set of established criteria that are applied in each round, considering mainly applicants’ intended destinations and types of activities in which they plan to participate.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Applications are accepted throughout the year. However, there are specific times for evaluating the applications and announcing the grantees for each of the three rounds, as follows:

Round 1
February

The deadline for submissions is 16 January at 16:00 Beirut time.

The grantees are announced on 28 February

Round 2
June

The deadline for submissions is 15 May at 16:00 Beirut time.

The grantees are announced on 30 June

Round 3
October

The deadline for submissions is 15 September at 16:00 Beirut time.
The grantees are announced on 31 October

• We cannot declare the names of grantees of a round before the stated date for the announcement of the results.
• The application screening and evaluation process for each round starts immediately after the submissions deadline. Therefore any applications submitted after the deadline cannot be considered for that round. No exceptions can be made in this regard. An application that arrives after the submissions deadline for one round will be automatically referred to the selection process of the next round if it meets all the eligibility requirements.

To determine when to apply
compare your intended travel date with two main dates:

The date the grantees are announced:

The activity of your intended travel must be scheduled after the date when the results are announced for whichever round you want to apply for.

The application deadline:

You must submit your application before the deadline for submissions for that round.

For more details visit: Culture Resource website.