A three-year British Council and Arts Council of Wales/Wales Arts International programme is inviting individual artists, arts organisations and festivals based in India or Wales to co-create new artistic work and share practice. Called Connections Through Culture: #IndiaWales, the grant will allow for collaborations to tour festivals in India and Wales.
The scheme was launched on 24 October at the Welsh Government and Honorary Consulate of India in Wales’ during the Diwali celebrations in Cardiff.
The new scheme will promote mutual and equitable links between India and Wales so organisations can exchange sector knowledge, skills and business models to build a more sustainable and resilient festival sector in both countries.
Barbara Wickham, country director, British Council India, said: “Through our work in arts we aim to strengthen the creative sector between India and the UK, helping organisations in both countries to connect, create and collaborate. Wales has a strong legacy of connections through arts with India and the new Connections Through Culture: #IndiaWales grant will further strengthen this bond. We have a strong focus on the development of the festivals sector in both countries and we hope organisations from across India will be encouraged to apply for this grant.”
This grant scheme continues the success of #IndiaWales, a joint funding programme between the British Council and Wales Arts International/Arts Council of Wales, and Wales’ involvement in the UK-India Year of Culture in 2017.
In 2017 #IndiaWales supported more than 2,000 participants across 13 projects, within applied arts, dance, film, literature, music and visual and applied arts, engaged more than 80,000 audience members in Wales and India and reached over 4.9m people through social media.