In line with the COP28 conference in Dubai this November, British Council and Art Jameel are rolling out their own unique campaign
Art Jameel and the British Council have launched a major programme to fund and nurture the role of the arts in addressing the climate crisis. This initiative is aligned with the COP28 conference taking place in Dubai this coming November.
Art Jameel, an organisation that supports artists and creative communities, and the British Council, have announced the launch of Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform, a three-tiered programme that invites artists, collectives and institutions based in the Arab world to submit proposals that engage meaningfully with the climate emergency.
Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform has been developed through dialogue with a network of arts and ecology colleagues, many of whom participated in the Culture and Climate Summit, co-organised by Art Jameel and British Council, and hosted by Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai’s hub for contemporary art and ideas, earlier this year.
The Anhar selection process will see expert juries consider proposals from individual practitioners making new work and supporting community projects through to grassroots institutions actioning practical solutions to reduce their carbon footprint.
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A major commissioning programme will support partners across the MENA region to create new artworks and programmes that address the climate crisis and foreground regional concerns.
Anhar launches in the lead-up to the UAE hosting the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), 30 November to 12 December. In this decisive decade for climate action, the UAE will seek to unite the world towards agreement on bold, practical, and ambitious solutions to the most pressing global challenge of our time.
Anhar is designed as a legacy programme that leverages this moment of focus to nurture the arts and culture scenes of the Middle East and North Africa in responding to this challenge.
The grants, totalling £250,000 (US$305,000), are categorised into three tiers:
Tier 1: £1,000 to £5,000 ($1,000 to $6,000) for artists, creative practitioners and small-scale collectives or collaborative ventures working on climate-related projects and proposals that raise awareness in their community.
Tier 2: £5,000 to £10,000 ($6,000 to $12,000) for cultural organisations embarking on initiatives to reduce their carbon and waste footprint through the development and implementation of decarbonisation strategies, including material works and investments in renewable energy infrastructures.
Tier 3: £25,000 to £50,000 ($30,500 to $70,000) to support collaborations between partnerships of UK and MENA-based artists and/or cultural organisations seeking to develop a large-scale artistic response to the climate emergency.
Anhar accepts proposals from individuals producing artistic outputs and cultural programming that engages with the climate emergency; cultural organisations actively refitting spaces for energy efficiency and renewable energy use, as well as implementing processes aimed at tracking and reducing carbon emissions and waste, are also encouraged to apply.
Additionally, Anhar welcomes experimental and creative approaches to cultural production, in any artform, that centre local, community-based and intersectional perspectives.
For more information, please visit britishcouncil.org
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