British Council: Spotlight on Culture UK/France 2024 Fund (Northern Ireland and Scotland)
Overview
Marking the 80th anniversary of the British Council in France, Spotlight on Culture UK/France will take place between April and October 2024, providing new opportunities for cultural organisations and artists to collaborate and contribute to the people-to-people links between neighbouring countries.
Open to organisations working in the field of arts and culture, cultural and creative industries, applications must be a partnership between at least one organisation in Northern Ireland OR Scotland and one in France. A project need not include partners from both Northern Ireland and Scotland simultaneously although projects involving both Northern Ireland and Scotland in France are welcome.
*This focus on Northern Ireland and Scotland reflects areas of under-representation from the 4 nations within the Spotlight on Culture UK/France 2024 programme as it is currently developing. They are exploring the possibility of a wider UK open call by the autumn but this remains dependent on further funding and is not at this stage guaranteed.
Funding
Between £5,000 and £30,000.
A maximum of 3 projects will be awarded £30k, with several awards in the range of £5k -10K.
About Spotlight on Culture UK/France 2024
The fund will support arts and cultural organisations in Northern Ireland and Scotland to build partnerships in France and showcase culture as part of the programme Spotlight on Culture UK/France 2024 - Together We Imagine.
Together We Imagine includes activity in the run up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France in 2024, putting a spotlight on UK creativity, and commitment to sustainability, inclusion and diversity.
British Council will manage the fund on behalf of the other partners, who will support financially as well as with the artistic collaboration and exchange between creative professionals arts organisations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and France.
British Council is responsible for the fund, in line with British Council standard procedures, our mission and values. The assessment and selection for the fund will be made by representatives of British Council, Creative Scotland, British Council Arts and Creative Economy Advisory Group members.
Grantees will be required to acknowledge their participation in the Spotlight on Culture programme Together We Imagine, and the funders British Council and Creative Scotland in all marketing and communications. Communications guidelines will be shared with successful applicants.
Main Aims & Objectives
- Develop projects that are public facing and celebratory, at a variety of scales and across all disciplines, which showcase art and culture from Northern Ireland and Scotland in France during the Spotlight on Culture UK/France programme running from April 2024 to October 2024.
- Develop new partnerships and/pr refresh existing partnerships with French organisations, and networks which have potential for long-term collaboration.
- Deliver a cultural programme that presents Northern Ireland and Scotland as leaders in creativity and innovation, globally responsible nations, putting a particular focus on sustainability, equalities, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
- Work with the Spotlight on Culture Programme partners to develop stronger links with regions and cities in France.
About Together We Imagine
Together We Imagine is a ground-breaking multidisciplinary cultural programme of UK-France co-created projects taking place between April and October 2024 across France. It supports people-to-people connections and increased engagement with arts and culture by younger generations and explores how people unite to face local and global challenges, how we connect to share knowledge, how we reflect on a rich but complex heritage, how we inspire each other so that:
- Together We Imagine a more sustainable cultural sector
- Together We Imagine a more inclusive society
- Together We Imagine new spaces for living and creating
- Together We Imagine environments for “Generation 2024” to connect and curate
- Together We Imagine the next chapters of the Franco-British story
Desired Outcomes
- Celebrate and showcase UK culture in all its diversity through our arts, heritage, language and culture
- Reinvigorate UK-France cultural dialogue and cooperation in addressing global challenges
- Build lasting and meaningful relationships between Northern Ireland and France or Scotland and France through the arts and creative industries, creating impact and legacy
- Strengthen Northern Ireland and Scotland’s cultural sectors through innovation, networking, audience building and profile, raising the capability and reach of international work.
Criteria
- Project outputs must include public-facing activities taking place in France between April and October 2024.
- Projects must be collaborative with all partners from Northern Ireland, Scotland and France consulted in the drafting of the application
- Projects should have a well thought-through communications plan, indicating physical and digital reach of the project include how the project will be captured and shared with wider audiences online.
- Applications with match funding in place will be given greater priority but match funding is not essential
- Projects should aim to communicate and embody a commitment to sustainability, inclusion and diversity.
- We expect applicants to embed principles of equality, diversity and inclusion concretely within the core proposal, budget and design (e.g. accessibility needs: captioning videos, translations, interpreters, gender of the beneficiaries or project team)
- Projects must demonstrate value-for-money and their approach to environmentally friendly choices (e.g. train travel where possible)
- Applications should indicate key project milestones and opportunities for physical and digital public engagement
- Successful applicants will submit project reports throughout the delivery period to the British Council or Creative Scotland which capture pre-agreed data about their activity and allow for a wider evaluation to be undertaken