Applications Invited for Mentorship Award Cultural & Artistic Responses to Environmental Change

Follow us@ngobox

About the Organization

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. With 157 institutes in 98 countries, it promotes knowledge of German abroad, encourages international cultural exchange, and conveys an image of contemporary Germany. The Goethe-Institut’s ties with partner institutions in many other places give it about 1,000 points of contact around the world.

About the Grant

The world is currently facing a critical situation: alarming changes in nature and our environment are all around us; biodiversity is disappearing; air and water sources are increasingly polluted; sea levels are rising; and extreme weather phenomena are escalating.

Now, more than ever, we need the arts and culture to help us respond; to inspire and motivate us by challenging our perceptions, encouraging communal action by introducing intersectional and trans-disciplinary perspectives, and centering non-hegemonic forms of knowledge to envision alternative models of climate justice in the world.

Cultural & Artistic Responses to Environmental Change is a year-long interdisciplinary programme aimed at accelerating engaged community-based cultural practices at the intersection of arts and the environment, initiating an international network of creatives, and fostering leadership. Through this programme we create a platform to explore critical artistic practices, connect engaged practitioners across the world, stimulate cross-disciplinary exchange and amplify new perspectives on environmental change.

The mentorship brings together 12 mid-career artists and cultural practitioners (± 8-15 years of relevant professional experience) with four mentors, all working across a range of disciplines and environmental issues. In order to foster conversation and collaboration within the cohort, and to support each artist in their own individual practice, this programme (designed considering the needs of the selected participants) includes different types of interaction such as workshops, guest talks and peer-to-peer sessions. Most of the activities are online as the participants are coming from different locales, but twice we come together in person for the two Lab Weeks (week-long mentoring intensives). Additionally, there is a collective project in the form of a publication that we will co-create.

The programme activities average a time commitment of 10 hours per month, though this varies throughout the year. Moreover, the participants should be comfortable sharing ideas in spoken English to promote a space of mutual learning where people with different life experiences and knowledge come together.

Each artist receives an award of €10.000 to work on the concept for a body of work that they outline in their application.

Through this mentorship programme we aim to:

• support critical and unconventional work by mid-career artists working on a range of issues related to the global commons, environmentalism, the climate crisis, and climate justice;
• stimulate leadership of individuals whose artistic work fosters awareness, social cohesion and empathy;
• accelerate the artistic practices of artists and cultural practitioners who show a commitment to their communities and to creating lasting change through environmental activism;
• strengthen and amplify new perspectives on environmentalism, the climate crisis and climate justice.

With this initiative, we invite artists and cultural practitioners both from and based in our working countries to envision a better future for our planet through artistic practices.

Eligibility

• Support is only given to individual persons from, living, registered and working in our working countries,
• This mentorship programme is specifically meant for individuals with ±8-15 years of relevant professional experience, individuals who do not have this level of experience are not eligible to participate in the programme.
• The Goethe-Institut and Prince Claus Fund hold a broad disciplinary understanding of arts and culture. By artists and cultural practitioners we mean people who have an individual artistic practice – be it as a visual artist, curator, writer, musician, performer, designer, architect, interdisciplinary artist, etc. Individuals who are arts managers, facilitators, academic researchers, or others, without an individual artistic practice are not considered to fall under this category, and as such are not eligible to apply.
• Previous grantees of the Prince Claus Fund are not eligible to apply unless their previous grant is finished and closed before the application submission deadline for this call.

How to Apply

You can apply for this opportunity through our online application system.

Timeline: The deadline for the submission of project applications is 30 April 2023, 23:59 CEST.

Only complete submissions received in the platform before the deadline can be considered.

Apply here

For more information please check the Link

Tags Environment and Sustainability Liberal Arts Others