Culture and Arts Programme (CAP)

With the onset of the Pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions, the cultural sector was one of the most affected sectors after health and education. With the disappearance of audiences and physical interaction, many ongoing grants and activities deaccelerated their pace, and new needs emerged. CAP was very attentive to these changes and integrated new interventions in its plan for the year.

Within the framework of the Arts and Literature Unit, the programme supported 55 new projects in 2020. These projects were related to different artistic and cultural fields, and selections were made from a total of 102 applications submitted by independent artists after an urgent grant for small-scale productions was announced to support artists during the global pandemic (which greatly impeded artistic production).

Within the context of the “Takatof” grant for supporting Palestinian cultural institutions in Palestine and Lebanon in partnership with the Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) organization in Lebanon, the Foundation provided 17 grants totalling 422,000 USD.

This came in light of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its [adverse] effect on funding the Palestinian cultural scene, especially amidst the spread of the “conditional funding” phenomenon.

The programme worked on developing and implementing capacity building programs and interventions. For example, after announcing the results of the 2019 Young Writer Competition at the end of the year, a decision was made to organize an “evening of literature readings” by the winners and those who received a recommendation for publication during the said competition. The event was set to be held on March 16, 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Also, Gazan visual artist Duaa Qishta received an artistic residency in the “Cité Internationale des Arts” in Paris in January 2020. Taqi Al Deen Sabateen from Bethlehem and Mohammad Al-Imrani from Gaza were also nominated to enrol in the new cycle of this grant, but they could not join due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. The programme also nominated Zeina Zaarour from Jenin/Ramallah to receive a residency grant at the University of Ideas (UNIDEE), which took place on virtual space in 2020. The programme also received 4 artists from Hebron, Jerusalem, and Ramallah, respectively, at the Visual and Performing Arts Studio of the Foundation’s headquarters in Ramallah. The purpose of these sessions was to meet with dedicated artists and enable them to complete their works and receive financial and technical aid and consultancy. Meetings with partners from “Ramallah Doc” took place in May 2020, in preparation for the activities and interventions of the next cycle.

The programme implemented the third phase of Writing for the Theatre Workshop, a joint project with Royal Court Theatre & the British Council, in the first half of 2020, with the participation of six playwrights. The workshop was held on Zoom due to the inability to conduct it face-to-face in June 2020. The playwrights have been developing the final versions of their scripts in preparation for the last phase of the workshop, which is planned to be held in 2021.

The programme announced a quarterly grant to sponsor a number of activities, festivals, and important cultural and artistic projects. This led to supporting 32 art and cultural activities/events in the literature, performing arts, visual arts, and cinema fields. Fortunately, this could be implemented despite the COVID-19 challenge, whereas the said events took place in Hebron, Ramallah, Tayibe of the Arab Triangle, Nablus, Jerusalem, Gaza, Nazareth, as well as globally (France, United States, Germany, Sweden, and United Kingdom). A total of 41,598 persons attended and/or participated in these activities. Activities also included two participations in international training programs, namely in Lebanon and Spain.

The programme received applications related to 6 scholarships for students who needed support in the past academic year. The programme also called for applications pertaining to two scholarships to support important artistic and cultural specializations. A total of 5 students completed their studies this year through the scholarships provided by this programme.

In order to support new works and experiences - and in partnership with “Dar Al Ahlia for Publishing and Distribution” - the programme worked on printing and publishing the winning works and works recommended for publication in the 2019 Young Writer Competition. Therefore, at the end of 2020, 5 out of the 12 literary writings were published and issued, whereas the publication of the remaining works will be completed next year.

The programme executed a number of projects in partnership with the Educational Research and Development Program (ERDP). This includes working on the second phase of the “Culture, Arts, and Social Engagement” (CASE) project, which is co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Within this framework, 5 grants for projects were approved, with an overall amount of $200,000 U.S., whereas their implementation will take place in different West Bank and Gaza Strip areas. A special monitoring and evaluation system was developed for this project, along with contracting with 3 professional producers and journalists to document the various events and activities of the project in visual and written formats.

With regard to the “Visual Arts: A Flourishing Field” (VAFF) project, the ten partner organizations in the project’s second cycle (2019-2021) managed to implement more than 110 activities and interventions, ranging from dialogues to workshops targeting cultural actors and/or the general public and creating opportunities to support artists. This took place despite the serious challenges and limitations of the pandemic. In this context, opportunities were given to female and male artists through partner organizations in different geographic areas (from Tulkarem in the north to Gaza Strip in the south). Through this project, a total of 34 female artists and 31 male artists received production grants, whereas 8 female artists and 8 male artists received artistic residency opportunities. Additionally, 15 face-to-face art workshops were organized, attended by 519 persons, in addition to holding 9 virtual workshops attended by 304 artists. Furthermore, 10 workshops for children were held, with the attendance of 577 children. Seven academic/educational workshops were also conducted, with the participation of 446 students. Six of the aforementioned programs were implemented face-to-face, and only one of them was held on Zoom. Furthermore, 30 lectures and information sessions were held this year, six of which were conducted face-to-face, attended by 134 persons, while 24 of them were held on Zoom – with the attendance of 546 persons.

Some organizations responded to the current health crisis by moving their activities online and using social media and websites, while others developed programs that respond to emerging needs. This includes the “Khalina Nshuf” (Let's See) initiative, which encourages creative practices in family spaces, especially during quarantines and closures. This initiative was launched collaboratively by the Visual Arts Forum (VAF) and Dar Qandeel for Arts and Culture. In this context, there was the introduction of grants that address the problems suffered by artists during the pandemic (especially financially), in order to enable them to proceed with their valuable artistic productions. For this purpose, the “Wasla” grant was created and is executed by the General Union of Cultural Centres in Gaza. The idea of “virtual exhibitions” was also introduced by several institutions, whether by organizing a completely electronic exhibition (as in the case of Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah in their “Artist at Work” exhibition), or by preparing a virtual space to display artworks hand in hand with the actual exhibition (as in the case of the “Printed in Jerusalem: Mustamloun” exhibition at the Palestinian Museum and the exhibitions of participating artists at the General Union of Cultural Centres and “Eltiqa” Group in the Gaza Strip). This year saw the conducting of 10 exhibitions and open (face-to-face) studios attended by 1,481 persons, along with 3 virtual exhibitions attended by 5,475 persons.