Today the Cultural Bridge programme has announced 15 partnerships between UK and German-based organisations, who have been awarded funding to develop cultural projects exploring issues facing communities across both countries.
With investment from seven major partners: Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London, Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland and Arts Council of Wales/Wales Arts International, Cultural Bridge is the first project that sees all organisations collaborate on a single fund.
The aim of the Cultural Bridge programme is to act as a platform of artistic exchange, enabling artists to strengthen the exchange between the UK and Germany and foster cultural collaboration. It does this by providing funding for partnerships to develop projects around specific themes, including: community engagement in post-industrial areas, working in areas or with communities that have fewer opportunities to engage with cultural practice or those transformed by grass-roots movements, and projects that explore redefining the use of public space.
The new programme follows a pilot year that funded the creation of 7 partnerships between 2021-22. Three of the pilot projects, ENTER, FAILSTONE and Ode to Earth (Phase 2) have been awarded funding to continue to develop their projects through Cultural Bridge 2023-24. Key learnings and the impact of the pilot year programme is available through the evaluation report published today on the Cultural Bridge website.
The 2023-24 programme partnerships applied through an open call which received over 95 applications, a testament to the international cultural sector’s commitment to developing work that enables social change. Applications were assessed and reviewed by an independent jury of professionals across the UK and Germany.
The 2023-24 partnerships are:
Tier one (new partnerships receiving funding up to £10,000):
- Illuminate Together - Handmade Parade (England) and Kapuziner Kreativzentrum (Germany)
- Co-creating with young voices - Mahogany Opera Group (England) and Frequenz_Festival Kiel (Germany)
- Bespoke - Make Works Scotland 'Paved with Gold' (Scotland) and Kulturzentrum LUISE (Germany)
- Going spaces: forming new connections and fostering collaboration - Motorenhalle Dresden (Germany) and SET studios London (England)
- Growing together to facilitate community stories - THE bEAR e.V. (Germany) and Open Past (Scotland)
- Our EARTH Hour - MOTTE eV. Stadtteil & Kulturzentrum (Germany) and Head4Arts (Wales)
- Playing with Audio Walks: Storydive meets Produced Moon - Produced Moon (Scotland) and Storydive (Germany)
- At the Table - The MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) (Northern Ireland) and coculture e.V. (Germany)
- Strictly Scottish and Schottisch - Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland (Scotland) and Folk Dance Society of Germany (Germany)
- Female Spaces - vier.D (Germany) and ACCA / Slung Low (England)
- In Each Other’s Company - National Dance Company of Wales (Wales) and Of Curious Nature (Germany)
Tier two (existing partnerships receiving funding up to £30,000):
- ENTER - Creative Black Country (England) and Kuturvilla Nellie (Germany)
- FAILSTONE - Folkestone Fringe (England) and Fine Arts Institute Leipzig - FAIL (Germany)
- Ode to Earth (Phase 2) - VILLA Leipzig (Germany), Beyond Skin and DU Dance (Northern Ireland)
- Between Moons. Spree~Channelsea Transmissions - Soundcamp CIC (England) and Archipel Stations (Germany)
Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive Officer, Arts Council of Wales said:
“I’m delighted that Head 4 Arts and National Dance Company Wales have been selected as part of Cultural Bridge and will be able to take this opportunity to connect with their partner organisations in Germany, sharing and learning from their respective socially engaged practices and work within communities. Our partnership with Cultural Bridge continues to offer valuable opportunities for arts organisations from Wales to engage and work internationally and forge new connections with partners in Germany and across the UK.”
Frank Lange on behalf of MOTTE eV. Stadtteil & Kulturzentrum and Head4Arts said:
“It is a great opportunity for two culturally different areas in Europe to engage in creative practice, exchange ideas and work together on an innovative pilot music and art event addressing our ecological footprint on earth hour day.”