"Stand for Art" Grant for supporting artists in the Arab region

By: Culture ResourceLast update: 4/1/2024

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(Available)

Applicant criteria

Nationality

No specific nationality required

Age

No specific age required

Gender

Both

Opportunity criteria

Location

Remotely

Needed documents

CV, Copy of Passport, passport sized photo of applicant, Sample of your work, Recommendation Letter

Opportunity description

Culture Resource is offering "Stand for Art" Grant that supports artists and cultural actors in the Arab region currently facing risk that threatens their safety and security either because of their artistic output and cultural activities or because of their presence in an unsafe environment inside their countries or abroad. Culture Resource launched the program in 2016 after conducting a study of the risks that artists and cultural actors are facing in the region as well as the types of support available to them locally and internationally. The program prioritizes cases that are facing the following risks: kidnapping or detention, imprisonment, threats of physical harm, violence and abuse, and prosecution, irrespective of whether the threats are perpetrated using legal or illegal means.

Program goals:

Safeguard the rights of artists and cultural actors in the Arab region to express themselves freely and to live and work in a safe and suitable environment that upholds their dignity and ensures their ability to pursue their artistic and cultural activities. Towards this end, the program works to provide temporary support that guarantees their safety.

Who is this program for?

Artists and cultural actors who are in danger because of their artistic or cultural expression or production.
Artists and cultural actors who are in danger because of the unsafe environment they live in, inside their countries or abroad.

Benefits

Forms of support:

Emergency fund, which provides financial support covering one or more of the following expenses:

Living expenses (including accommodation expenses) in the country of residence or the host country for up to six months,
Travel expenses (tickets and visa costs and/or internal transportation expenses),
Legal support (expenses for professional legal advice or hiring lawyers),
Other types of support that require expenditures (such as psychological and/or physical health care expenses).

Referral, which is a non-monetary support that can include putting beneficiaries in touch with the following entities:

Short term artistic residencies inside the Arab region and abroad in order to guarantee a temporary safe haven where they can live and work,
International organizations that support artists at risk or offer temporary residencies. The program supports beneficiaries’ applications by providing a recommendation letter to these organizations.
Advocacy organizations or lawyers to support the beneficiaries and provide free legal advice.

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must originate from an Arab country regardless of ethnicity and citizenship status or whether they are currently residing in the Arab region or abroad;
The applicant must be an artist or a cultural actor;
The applicant must be in peril or face a tangible and verifiable threat.

Required Documents:

Copy of the passport, ID or any identification document
Applicant’s short bio or a detailed CV
Previous works or links to previous works (up to 3 works)
Two recommendation letters from individuals or organizations that are aware of the risk situation that you are facing and their contact information
Official invitation from a host entity (if available)

The selection process:

Once the application form is received, it will be evaluated in terms of eligibility of the applicant, the full completion of the application and inclusion of the required supporting documents;
If all requirements are met, the program team will verify the accuracy of the information contained in the application. In some cases, the team may consult reliable individuals and organizations who know the artist or cultural actor and are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of the information;
The program team will then submit the application to the program’s steering committee for assessment, deciding whether to approve it or reject it. The committee also determines the form of support it deems suitable based on the gravity of the case if accepted. The committee comprises 6 artists and cultural managers with expertise in their field and are aware of the social, political, artistic and cultural developments in the Arab region and exile. The formation of the committee takes into consideration gender diversity and geographical distribution;
The program team will then inform the applicant of the committee’s decision. If accepted, the program team sends the form of support as proposed by the steering committee;
After the applicant agrees to the proposed support, an agreement is signed between Culture Resource and the beneficiary.

About Culture Resource:

Founded in 2004, Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) is a regional, non-profit organization that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchange between intellectuals and artists within this region and abroad. The work of Culture Resource emanates from a deep appreciation of the renewable value of Arab cultural heritage, in all its ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity, and from a faith in the importance of generating a new Arab spirit of creativity as a key to liberating the imagination and stimulating progress. Culture Resource also believes that artistic and literary activities are a social necessity which demands the moral and material support on the part of all effective forces in society.

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