Visual arts collaboration grants

Supporting co-creation, co-production and dissemination

This programme supports collaborative projects that strengthen connections between African and European visual arts communities. Whether you're creating new work together, researching artistic practices, or developing critical discourse, we fund partnerships that advance both individual careers and broader understanding of contemporary visual arts.

Who can apply: Visual artists, curators, critics, researchers, gallerists, and other visual arts professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. Applications must involve collaboration between African and European partners, with both individual artists and institutions eligible to apply.

What we support: Two distinct funding streams address different aspects of visual arts collaboration. Lot 1 supports practical co-creation projects including joint exhibitions, collaborative artworks, residency exchanges, and co-production initiatives. Lot 2 funds research, criticism, publications, and discourse projects that deepen understanding of African and European visual arts.

Lot 1 - Co-creation and Co-production: Joint artistic projects, collaborative exhibitions, artist residency exchanges, co-produced artworks, shared studio programmes, and practical partnerships that result in new creative work. Projects should demonstrate genuine collaboration rather than parallel activities.

Lot 2 - Discourse and Research: Critical writing projects, academic research collaborations, publication initiatives, documentation of artistic practices, comparative studies of African and European art, and projects that contribute to scholarly and public understanding of contemporary visual arts.

Collaboration requirements: All projects must involve meaningful partnership between African and European participants. Strong applications show how collaboration enhances the work beyond what either partner could achieve alone, with clear benefits for both participants and their communities.

Types of partnerships: Artist-to-artist collaborations, institution-to-institution partnerships, curator-artist projects, critic-artist collaborations, researcher-practitioner partnerships, and mixed partnerships involving multiple types of participants from both continents.

Financial support: Grants cover collaboration costs including travel, accommodation, materials, production expenses, research costs, publication expenses, and dissemination activities. Budgets should reflect genuine collaboration involving substantial time and resource commitment from both partners.

How to apply: Joint applications assessed on collaborative strength, artistic or scholarly quality, innovation, and potential impact on African-European visual arts connections. We prioritize projects that create lasting relationships and contribute to ongoing dialogue between the continents.

Launch Date: 15.10.2025
Cut-off Date: 15.01.2026
Implementation Phase: 01.04.2026 - 31.03.2028