Berlin/Bonn/Cardiff/Belfast/Edinburgh/London, February 2022
The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.
Together with the Fonds Soziokultur, Arts Council England, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales/Wales Arts International, Creative Scotland, and Goethe-Institut London, Fonds Soziokultur has co-produced the Cultural Bridge pilot programme: a pilot funding opportunity to advocate bilateral community arts collaboration.
The programme aims to enable social change through diverse art forms and community arts practices. It promotes cross-border cooperation between UK nations (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, England) and German cultural institutions in various disciplines and participative methods.
Awarded projects will implement their socially engaged practices in partnership with at least one participating German organisation and one from one of the four UK countries—England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
Cultural Bridge celebrates bilateral partnerships between the UK and Germany through the collaboration of all UK arts councils and leading German cultural institutions. The programme aims to act as a platform of exchange, enabling others to discuss social issues, strengthen the exchange between the UK and GER, and foster artistic collaboration and cultural democracy.
The successful projects for the pilot programme year have now been announced. The jury, which consisted of representatives from all participating countries, selected seven projects to be awarded funding of up to 25,000€. The seven partnerships will all kick off their projects in November 2021 to share learning, exchange expertise, and develop new approaches to socially engaged practice.
- ENTER – Kulturvilla Nellie, Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg + Creative Black Country, West Bromwich, Birmingham (England)
- STAGING THE HIDDEN WORDS – Sommerblut Kulturfestival, Cologne + Writing on the Wall, Liverpool (England)
- BRIDGIT ‘Building Better Bridges’ – Fine Arts Institute Leipzig (FAIL), Leipzig + Folkestone Fringe, Kent (England) and Alchemy Film & Arts, Hawick (Scotland)
- NORTHSEA NEIGHBOURS – Das Letzte Kleinod, Schiffdorf, Niedersachsen + Shetland Arts, Shetland Islands (Scotland)
- ENSEMBLE UPVENTION – S27, Berlin + Govanhill Baths, Glasgow (Scotland)
- ODE TO EARTH – Die Villa, Leipzig + Beyond Skin and DU Dance, Belfast (Northern Ireland)
- MIND THE GAP – University of Music Lübeck and Emanuel Geibel-Schule + Valleys Kids, Penygraig (Wales)
‘The Cultural Bridge pilot programme is an important step in strengthening cross-border collaboration between the UK and Germany. With support from the seven lead partner organisations the participating exemplary local cultural institutions have discovered valuable common ground to forge new connections through this pilot. The programme and each of the new partnerships are based on the strong belief that cultural democracy in our societies is needed more than ever. Shared learning and development of new approaches to socially engaged arts practice through the Cultural Bridge is likely to be of benefit to us all.’
Mechthild Eickhoff, Managing Director Fonds Soziokultur
Simon Mellor, Deputy Chief Executive, Arts and Museums, Arts Council England, said: ‘Our investment in international cultural collaboration helps promote understanding across borders and inspires artists and communities in England. With the new Cultural Bridge pilot programme, we are excited to be working with colleagues in Germany and across the UK to support creativity to help drive social change in our communities.’
You can find more information on the Cultural Bridge website.
Follow the project’s progress and latest updates on Twitter using #CulturalBridge.
For inquiries, please contact ruth.groth@britishcouncil.de
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. In 2019-2020 we reached over 75 million people directly and 758 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 14.5 per cent core funding grant from the UK government.
About the Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies administering the Government’s unprecedented £1.96 billion Culture Recovery Funds.
About Wales Arts International
Wales Arts International is the in-house international agency of the Arts Council of Wales, the public body responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.
About the Arts Council of Northern Ireland
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead funding and development agency for the Arts providing support to arts projects throughout the region, through its Treasury and The National Lottery funds. Our funding enables artists and arts organisations to increase access to the arts across society and deliver great art that is within everyone’s reach.
About Fonds Soziokultur
Fonds Soziokultur is one of six Federal Culture Fonds in Germany and is supporting participative art projects of all artistic kinds since 1988. The Fonds Soziokultur funds projects which act as role models for other sociocultural initiatives and institutions. The aim of socioculture is to engage with and expand both the aesthetic and communicative as well as also the social needs and capabilities of all citizens.
In this context, objectives are adoption of cultural and artistic forms of expression and to encourage and empower active co-creation in social and cultural life. The regular budgetary resources of the Fonds Soziokultur are provided by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media).
Goethe-Institut London
The Goethe-Institut London is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. It promotes knowledge of the German language abroad, fosters international cultural cooperations and conveys a comprehensive image of Germany with 159 locations in 98 countries worldwide. Engaging an audience interested in culture, language and education, the Goethe-Institut London is located on Exhibition Road, offering a broad variety of scope and spaces with nearby access to world-class institutions.
