The A.M. Qattan Foundation’s Culture and Arts Programme announces an open call for project proposals for the ‘Visual Arts: A Flourishing Field’ (VAFF) Project Grants, funded by the Consulate General of Sweden represented by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). VAFF aspires to achieve a more sustainable, vibrant and innovative visual arts field in Palestine.
VAFF aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- The enhanced organisational capacity and sustainability of visual arts organisations.
- The further development of art education programmes, of learning and research opportunities, and making them available for artists, art students and professionals.
- That art organisations are active in extending support to artists and art professionals for the production of innovative works and community-based art projects, and in the garnering of wide audiences.
Eligibility Criteria
The following are eligible to submit applications for VAFF Project Grants:
- Palestinian nonprofit organisations working fully or partially in the visual arts field, and which are registered in the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and/or the Gaza Strip.
- Art colleges, faculties and other academic institutions that offer programmes in visual art education and research, and which are registered in the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and/or the Gaza Strip.
- Art collectives active in the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and/or the Gaza Strip who apply under the umbrella of a Palestinian nonprofit organisation working in the fields of art and culture, and which are registered in the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and/or Gaza Strip.
Application Requirements:
- Applicants should have the capacity to implement the proposed project successfully during the period from July 2017 to December 2018.
- By submitting VAFF’s grant application form, the applicants agree, if shortlisted, to collaborate with the A.M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF) and provide the necessary assistance to a specialised team of consultants hired by AMQF to assess the organisations’ financial and/or managerial and/or artistic capacities to implement the proposed projects.
Areas of Support:
As long as the proposed projects meet the VAFF goals, applicants may submit proposals in one or more of the areas listed below, or in other related areas:
- Enhancing financial and/or administrative and/or technical and core staff capacities, as well as the acquiring of needed equipment and other resources.
- Developing artistic programmes, which should aim to improve the engagement of more artists and art collectives, as well as wider audiences, and to encourage debate about new art productions.
- The design and development of innovative educational and training/learning programmes, and the provision of opportunities to develop the visual art research field, and to cooperate with researchers, academics, qualified experts and professionals.
- The provision of networking, learning and exchange opportunities for art students, artists and art professionals through different projects that reinforce partnerships and provide access to new platforms for learning, production and promotion.
- Building and/or developing capacities through specialised training programmes in related fields such as art production, art criticism, archiving, etc.
- Contribute to documenting, archiving and studying the Palestinian visual arts in a professional and academic way.
Grant Award:
Grants will range between $100,000–$300,000 per organisation. Awarding of grants will be subject to a two-phase assessment process, as explained in the ‘Selection’ section below.
Eligible Expenditures:
VAFF provides both core and programme funding. The following expenditures are eligible:
- Administrative and operational expenditures, including core staff salaries, rent, etc.
- Expenditures related to enhancing organisation’s technical capacities, and developing financial and administrative systems, and strengthening managerial capacities.
- Programme expenditures that ensure the significant role of the applicant organisation in the culture and arts scene and its sustained engagement with artists and wider audiences.
- Organisations receiving core funding from other projects funded by the Consulate General of Sweden are eligible to apply only for programme funding and are not eligible to apply for core funding through the VAFF grants.
Project Period:
Projects funded by VAFF should be implemented between July 2017 and December 2018. Narrative and financial reports should also be submitted during this period.
Selection:
Eligible applications will be evaluated through a two-phase process:
- First Phase: A specialised and independent jury will evaluate all eligible and complete applications against agreed-upon evaluation criteria. Once this evaluation is completed, a shortlist of applicants will be announced no later than April 30, 2017.
- Second Phase: Assessment of the shortlisted applicants’ administrative and financial capacities and various resources will be conducted by a team of independent consultants. Based on the results of the assessment, a final shortlist will be announced no later than June 30, 2017.
Evaluation Criteria:
Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the criteria regarding how the proposed projects:
- contribute to the achievement of all (or some) of the VAFF’s defined outcomes
- enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the applicant organisations
- improve the quality of the applicant organisations programmes
- develop capacities of the applicant organisations to reach wider audiences
To Apply:
Please complete the VAFF grant application form, and the required annexes, and submit by email, with the subject line ‘VAFFGRANTS_NAME OF ORGANISATION’, to e.sharabati@qattanfoundation.org no later than Monday, April 10, 2017.
For any enquiries, please email: e.sharabati@qattanfoundation.org.
This project is funded by the Consulate General of Sweden represented by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
