Creative Scotland and partners* have confirmed continued funding of a unique International cultural exchange programme, to a total of £730,000 over two years.
Celebrating social arts practice by supporting the development of new and existing partnerships between Germany and the UK, Cultural Bridge was established in 2021 as an innovative investment partnership between all UK arts councils and leading German cultural institutions.
So far Cultural Bridge has supported 35 partnerships and over 70 organisations committed to exchanging and collaborating on artistic practices that explore themes faced by communities in both countries.
The fund supports organisations working across various themes and artforms including youth work, inclusion, health and wellbeing, socio-political, rural and environment-based arts.
By enabling new and existing connections, Cultural Bridge supports a growing network of organisations committed to sharing expertise and skills, exchanging ideas and collaborating on artistic practices and projects that explore themes and issues faced by communities across both countries.
Feminism and Migrant activism from Stellar Quines and Mpower explores socially engaged and co-created work with young women with refugee and migration experiences from Berlin and Fife. The Invisible City from Tortoise in a Nutshell and TheaterGrueneSosse engages young people from both cities to come together to learn, share and discover the similarities and differences in their local communities and artistic practices.
Tortoise in a Nutshell and TheaterGrueneSosse are partnered on their project The Invisible City. They said: “Cultural bridge will enable us to partner with like-minded artists to produce outstanding art for people of all ages. It is so important to be able to go into a process like this with time, space and openness, which the program will provide.
“Together, Theatergruenesosse and Tortoise in a Nutshell will explore the invisible cities and perspectives in the places that surround us. The funding allows us to collaborate and bring together young people from both Frankfurt and Edinburgh to learn and share with one another and discover the similarities and differences in our local communities and artistic practices.”
The programme launched in 2021 and has supported 35 new and existing partnerships through 42 awards, benefitting 73 organisations and providing opportunities to 591 artists and cultural practitioners across the UK and Germany. Nine of these partnerships through ten awards were from Scotland.
To date, Cultural Bridge has awarded £662,000 in grants and has today confirmed a commitment to two further funding rounds of £360,000 and £370,000 respectively, totalling £730,000.
Cultural Bridge is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Dana MacLeod, Executive Director of Arts, Communities and Inclusion of Creative Scotland said: “Creative Scotland’s continued commitment to the Cultural Bridge programme is another example of our important work with the four UK nations’ arts councils to strengthen and deepen international links.
“The impactful partnership with Fonds Soziokultur, the British Council and the Goethe Institut in London supports exchange between socially engaged artists and creative practitioners across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and our close neighbour Germany. This opens doors to nuanced and thought-provoking connections between the local communities with which they work.”