Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform has invited artists, collectives and institutions based in the Arab world to submit proposals that engage meaningfully with the climate emergency. The Open Call was launched on October 4, and applications will be accepted until December 15, 2023.

Launched by Art Jameel, an organisation that supports artists and creative communities, and the British Council, the three-tiered programme has been developed through dialogue with a network of arts and ecology colleagues, many of whom participated in the Culture and Climate Summit, co-organised by Art Jameel and British Council, and hosted by Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai’s hub for contemporary art and ideas, earlier this year.

Anhar accepts proposals from individuals producing artistic outputs and cultural programming that engages with the climate emergency; cultural organisations actively refitting spaces for energy efficiency and renewable energy use, as well as implementing processes aimed at tracking and reducing carbon emissions and waste, are also encouraged to apply.

Additionally, Anhar welcomes experimental and creative approaches to cultural production, in any artform, that centre local, community-based and intersectional perspectives.

The Anhar selection process involves expert juries who will assess the proposals from individual practitioners making new work and supporting community projects through to grassroots institutions actioning practical solutions to reduce their carbon footprint.

A major commissioning programme will support partners across the MENA region to create new artworks and programmes that address the climate crisis and foreground regional concerns.

Anhar is designed as a legacy programme that was launched in the run-up to the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) hosted by the UAE from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

The grants, totalling £250,000 ($305,000), are categorised into three tiers:

Tier 1: £1,000 to £5,000 ($1,220 to $7,322) for artists, creative practitioners and small-scale collectives or collaborative ventures working on climate-related projects and proposals that raise awareness in their community

Tier 2: £5,000 to £10,000 ($7,322 to $12,000) for cultural organisations embarking on initiatives to reduce their carbon and waste footprint through the development and implementation of decarbonisation strategies, including material works and investments in renewable energy infrastructures

Tier 3: £25,000 to £50,000 ($30,500 to $70,000) to support collaborations between partnerships of UK and MENA-based artists and/or cultural organisations seeking to develop a large-scale artistic response to the climate emergency.

Antonia Carver, Director of Art Jameel, said: “The arts have a central, dynamic role to play in communicating the urgency of the climate crisis, drawing in broad audiences as active participants in this endeavour, and in actioning practical solutions to reduce our collective carbon footprint.

“Sustainability has long been core to Art Jameel’s mandate, and we are delighted to be collaborating with the British Council to launch Anhar – a programme specifically developed by and for the Arab world, its creative practitioners and grassroots institutions.”

Pablo Rossello, Director of the British Council’s Culture Responds global programme (which focuses on culture, diversity and climate), said: “The climate emergency is the most urgent threat currently facing humanity, with a disproportionately severe impact on the people and communities whose voices are least likely to be included in the global debates.

“We hope that this new round of commissioning in the MENA region will raise awareness, help shape cultural and intergovernmental responses around the world, and result in a more sustainable future, locally, regionally and internationally.”

Amany Abouzeid, Regional Arts Director for British Council MENA, added: “We plan to invest in and celebrate significant artistic programmes that move the climate debate forward in a culturally relevant way that reflects the complexities of the Middle East and North Africa.

“Our new grants programme, drawing on and amplifying the energy and diversity of creative approaches in the region, will stimulate meaningful connections with the UK, as well as strengthening a broad network of cultural practitioners in their quest to become climate advocates and experts, both in their communities and on international platforms.” – TradeArabia News Service