Audience development grants

Expanding reach of heritage narratives

This programme supports the dissemination of heritage narrative co-productions created through the Southern Africa component, helping them reach audiences far beyond their origins. Whether through touring festivals, artist mobility, digital innovation, or groundbreaking audience development concepts, we fund projects that connect heritage stories with diverse communities.

Who can apply: Artists and creatives who participated in heritage narrative development, heritage organisations from the programme, cultural venues, festivals, touring specialists, online content distributors, and innovative audience development organisations across Southern Africa and beyond.

Four funding streams available:

• Travelling Festival Grants (€185,000): Support major touring initiatives presenting multiple co-productions across Southern African countries and beyond. Applications from organisations experienced in large-scale cultural event management, with capacity to coordinate complex touring logistics and reach audiences beyond urban centres.
• Artist Mobility Grants (€1,750-3,750): Enable artists and heritage practitioners to present their co-productions at festivals, venues, and events across Southern Africa, elsewhere in Africa, or in the EU. Multiple applications possible for different destinations, with separate grants for each travel.
• Online Presentation Grants (€10,000): Fund innovative digital projects that make heritage narratives accessible to global audiences through websites, virtual reality experiences, documentary productions, podcast series, interactive platforms, and social media campaigns.
• Wild Card Grants (€15,000): Support experimental, boundary-pushing audience development ideas that don't fit traditional categories. We encourage applications for unconventional approaches to heritage dissemination including community engagement projects, educational initiatives, and cross-sector collaborations.

Geographic reach: Projects should demonstrate clear potential to expand audiences beyond the local level, whether through regional touring within Southern Africa, continental reach across Africa, international presentation in Europe, or global digital distribution.

Community impact: Strong applications show how audience development activities will create lasting connections between heritage narratives and new communities, fostering intercultural dialogue and deeper understanding of Southern African cultural heritage.

Financial support: Grants cover venue costs, artist fees, travel expenses, accommodation, technical requirements, shipping, promotional activities, and digital platform development. Budgets assessed for cost-effectiveness and realistic implementation potential.

How to apply: Applications assessed on artistic quality of heritage productions, feasibility of audience development strategy, potential reach and impact, sustainability of partnerships, and innovation in presentation approaches. Priority given to projects creating ongoing relationships rather than one-time presentations.

Launch Date: 15.05.2026
Cut-off Date: 15.08.2026
Implementation Phase: 01.10.2026 - 30.09.2027