Ramallah – (A.M. Qattan Foundation):
During the first quarter of 2019, the Culture and Arts Programme (CAP) awarded 28 grants totaling $246,900 to support various artistic and cultural projects.
For the ؛Performing Arts Grants, the CAP received 71 applications in the fields of music, dance, theatre and other performing arts. The proposals were reviewed by three different juries which included Emile Ashrawi, Dalia Taha, Samer Jaradat, Samaa Wakeem, Samar Haddad King, Najla’ Nakhleh, Ahmad Al Khatib, Khalifa Natour, Mahmoud Jrere and Terez Sliman. Ten grants totaling $118,000 were awarded to support new productions by the Palestinian Institute for Cultural Development – Nawa (Ramallah), Faraj Suleiman (Paris, Haifa), Alaa Bishara (Mi’ilya), Shadi Zaqtan (Ramallah), Mohammed Silwadi (Kufr ‘Aqab, Jerusalem), Qadita Institute for Culture and Arts (Akka), Mahdi Krira (Gaza), Wasim Kheir (Haifa), Alaa’ Shihadeh (Jenin) and Stereo 48 (Nablus).
Each, “Tabe3 Fany for Productions and Promotions” project (Ramallah) and Ali Muhanna’s “The Sea is Ours” project (Gaza) received a grant of $23,000 as part of the fourth round of the “Culture, Art and Social Engagement” (CASE) project co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The programme received 42 applications from Ramallah, Jerusalem, Gaza, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin and Haifa. A specialised jury included Iman Aoun, Raouf Haj Yahya, Sahar Qawasmi, Amer Shomali, Alaa Abu Saa’ reviewed the proposals and selected the shortlisted projects after a series of meetings and deliberations during May.
The CASE project aims to promote social responsibility and participation through arts and culture, and intends to highlight the role of arts and culture as an effective tool for promoting social engagement, strengthening social cohesion and cultural identity, thus promoting freedom of expression and social accountability.
Throughout the first round of the Seasonal Grants for 2019, the programme awarded 16 grants worth $82,900 to support several artistic and cultural events, in addition to providing travel grants for artists.
Over the course of three rounds, the programme provides seasonal grants to support the organisation of various events in the fields of visual and performing arts, literature and cinema proposed by individuals and/or collectives or institutions.
The Culture and Arts Programme (CAP) was launched in 1999, to provide financial and moral support for talented and creative artists, particularly to young artists, in various creative fields. As a result, the programme fortifies and expands artists’ skills and talents to enable them to explore wider horizons.