Grants for Arab Artists and Writers Worth 8,500 euros from Al-Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy

Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy Foundation offers a grants program that aims to support and encourage a new generation of young artists and writers from the Arab region to produce artistic and literary works. Every year, 20 projects are selected for the grants, four in each artistic category. The program helps give young people the opportunity to create original works and develop new forms of artistic and literary expression.

The program offers grants of up to €8,500 for projects in the following categories: literature, performing arts, visual arts, and music. In the cinema/video category, the program offers grants of up to €13,000.

• Applicants must be between 15 and 35 years old as of the next first of January. Applications submitted by individuals, not in this age bracket will be discarded;
• Applicants must originate from an Arab country regardless of ethnicity and citizenship status or whether they are currently residing in the Arab region or abroad;
• Application is open to artists of all disciplines: Performance arts, visual arts, literature, music, cinema/video, etc.

Application Terms:

• The application must be submitted by: a film director for projects in the cinema/video category, a theatre director, choreographer or dance performance director for the performing arts, a writer for the literature production award, a musician or performer for the music category, and the main artist or curator for the visual arts.
• The applications must be completed in Arabic on the form available on the application's website.
• Applicants under the age of 18 must include with their application a copy of their birth certificate, a letter of approval signed by a parent or guardian, and a copy of the identity card/passport of that parent/guardian.
• Applicants must attach a detailed budget projection, in the local currency of their country, for the project they plan to carry out.
• Applicants may not apply for support for more than one project, whether in a single discipline or more than one discipline.
• Work on the proposed project cannot begin one month after the results are announced as the program does not cover project expenses incurred prior to the announcement of the results.
• Should the applicant have another funding source, he/she must clarify this in the application form and in the projected budget for the proposed project.
• Applications that are incomplete or lack the necessary attachments and supporting documents will not be considered.
• The Production Award program does not cover the reproduction of a project that has been previously produced or presented, or a project in the following domains: websites, workshops, support for entities or organizations, research.
• Applications will not be accepted from previous recipients of Culture Resource production awards until three years have elapsed after they received their previous grant.

Application Rules:

• Applications are accepted once a year and they are evaluated once a year as detailed in the program schedule, above.
• To apply, please register on the Production Awards online application website (see link below) with a username and password. Please bear in mind that the production awards for the cinema/video category have a separate application form.
• Applicants may save their applications in progress at any point and return to them later.
• Application forms that are incomplete or lack the required attachments and supporting documents will not be considered.
• The projects proposed in the applications must be completed within at most 18 months after the date the contracts are signed between the grantee and Culture Resource.
• The grant may not be used to purchase machinery or equipment.
• By accepting the grant, recipients commit to citing Culture Resource, its logo, and the phrase, “This work has been produced with a grant from Culture Resource” in all outputs of the project.

How are grantees selected?

• After the deadline for submissions for each round, all applications submitted for that round are screened in terms of the eligibility of the applicant and the fulfillment of the application requirements, including the full completion of the application form and inclusion of the required supporting documents and attachments.
• Applications that meet all the requirements are submitted to an independent jury for each of the five categories. The composition of the juries changes with each round. Each jury consists of three artists and writers with recognized expertise in their disciplines.
• The juries assess the applications and select the grantees on the basis of a set of established assessment criteria that are applied in each round. The criteria include the quality and relevance of the project, originality, practicability of the projected budget, and feasibility of completion by deadline.

Contractual procedures and obligations

• Once the results are announced, Culture Resource sends contracts to the selected grantees. The contracts explain, in detail, the scope of coverage, conditions, and duration of the support. Grantees also receive a document explaining the intellectual property rights of both parties.
• Disbursal of the grants: The first installment (60-70 percent of the total amount of the grant) is paid upon signing the contacts. The second installment (15-20 percent) is paid when grantees furnish Culture Resource with the contractually stipulated reports and materials that document the progress of the project. The remainder (15-20 percent) is paid once grantees furnish Culture Resource the required financial and narrative reports following the completion of their projects.
• If a selected recipient does not sign the contract within 45 days after it was sent, the grant will be canceled.
• In the event that the Culture Resource grant does not cover the full amount budgeted for the project, the grantee must clarify his/her other sources of funding for the project within 90 days after obtaining the grant, or else the grant will be canceled.
• In the event that the project is not completed, whether for personal, health, or other reasons, either the grant will be canceled or the recipient may apply for an extension. Culture Resource reserves the right to approve or reject the request after studying the case.
• Should a grant be canceled for whatever cause, the program will cover only the expenditures the grantee made before the date of cancellation. The grantee will be obliged to return the remainder of the payments he/she has received.
• Culture Resource has the right to halt payment of the second and third installments to the second party (the grantee) should that party fail to submit the required reports or meet other agreed-upon commitments.
• The deadline for completing a project may only be extended once and on the condition that the application for an extension is submitted at least 30 days before the end of the contract period. The one-time extension shall not exceed six months in the performance arts, literature, music, and visual arts categories and one year in the cinema/video category. Extension requests should be emailed to: awards@mawred.org. Culture Resource reserves the right to accept or reject extension requests without citing cause.
• A grantee must pledge to furnish two guarantors for his/her project. At least one of the guarantors must be fully aware of the nature of the project to be carried out and an expert in the relevant field. The guarantors shall agree to all the articles of the contract, cosign it, and pledge to guarantee the implementation of the project and to return any grant money disbursed in the event that the project is not completed by the contractually agreed upon deadline.
• The Production Awards program and Culture Resource must be referenced clearly in all publications and media (including social networking media), news items, reports, and publicity pertaining to the project that was awarded support.

About Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy:

Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy) is a regional, non-profit organization founded in 2003 that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchange within the region and beyond. The work of Culture Resource is based on an appreciation of the value of the diverse cultural heritage within the Arab region, and a belief in the critical role of culture in the development of civil society, the importance of access to culture for all, and the rights of artists to freedom of expression.

See more available bachelor scholarships on For9a

 See more available jobs on For9a

See also the job opportunities in the Gulf on For9a