Art Jameel and the British Council are proud to present Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform to support ambitious projects in the arts and cultural sector that engage with the climate emergency. Focused on supporting cultural practitioners in the Middle East and North Africa/Arab World, this collaboration brings together Art Jameel and the British Council’s long-standing goals and climate-focused programmes in an effort to diversify and increase support for creative responses to the climate emergency. ‘Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform’ builds on findings and key priorities for the MENA cultural sector following the Culture and Climate Summit, a two-day workshop and seminar exploring culture’s role in addressing the climate emergency, jointly organised by Art Jameel and the British Council in March 2023.
‘Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform’ kicks off with a three-tiered Open Call that invites individual artists, collectives and cultural organisations based in the MENA region to submit proposals that meaningfully engage with the climate emergency.
The programme aims to:
- Support creative practitioners producing cultural projects that engage with the climate emergency, raise awareness and inspire engagement.
- Support cultural organisations in refitting spaces for energy efficiency and renewable energy use and/or the implementation of processes aimed at tracking and reducing carbon emissions and waste.
- Support experimental and creative approaches to cultural production that centre local, community-based and intersectional perspectives.
- Facilitate peer exchange, stimulate meaningful connections, international and interdisciplinary collaboration while expanding and strengthening a regional network of cultural practitioners engaged with the climate emergency.
Programme Tiers
The Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform offers three tiers of awards:
- Tier 1: Awards grants of £1,000 to £5,000 to individual artists and collectives working on climate-related projects and proposals.
- Tier 2: Awards grants of £5,000 to £10,000 to cultural organisations to reduce their carbon and waste footprint through the development and implementation of a decarbonisation strategy, including material works and investments in renewable energy infrastructures.
- Tier 3: Awards grants of £25,000 to £50,000 to support collaborations between UK and MENA artists, collectives, networks and/or cultural organisations seeking to develop a large-scale artistic response to the climate emergency, with at least a component of the project taking place in a MENA country.
Deadline: 15 January 2024 (23:59 GST).
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be based in one or more of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya , Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.