wijhat artist grant - round two

Arab artists and cultural actors face major challenges when it comes to traveling within the Arab region or abroad for professional purposes. Foremost among them are insufficient funding to cover travel expenses, difficulties in obtaining visas and lack of opportunities to network with organizations that could potentially become partners in the creative processes in this region. Such problems hamper the artists’ prospects for career development and the acquisition of wider audiences for their creative output. They also narrow the scope for collaboration and exchanges of ideas and expertise with their peers in the region, for the exposure of artists’ works internationally, and for cultural and professional exchange opportunities with peers outside the Arab region.

Wijhat (Destinations) was developed to address these concerns. The program provides grants of up to €7,000 to artists and cultural actors from the Arab region to support their travels within the Arab region or to any destination abroad. It thereby contributes to acquainting others with the artistic and cultural production from this region while enabling the grantees to present their works to new audiences and to engage in diverse cultural exchange experiences.

Wijhat offers 25 to 30 grants a year in three rounds. The funding covers ticket costs, visa costs, accommodation, internal transportation, and partial coverage of living expenses. Culture Resource estimates the amount allocated for the partial support for living expenses which should be regarded as travel support rather and should not be presumed to cover living expenses in full during the travel period.

Culture Resource can also provide a recommendation letter to the relevant embassy in order to support a grantee’s visa application, if necessary. This would be arranged after the grant contract is signed.

The program does not stipulate a specific duration for a travel or stay abroad, but it only covers the above-mentioned expenses for the period of the activity or event stated in the application.