Call for Applications: Visual Art Grants for Visual artists and cultural professionals based in Sub-Saharan Africa or the EU (Up to €20,000 per team awarded)
Application Deadline: 17 April 2026
Call for Applications: Visual Art Grants for Visual artists and cultural professionals based in Sub-Saharan Africa or the EU (Up to €20,000 per team awarded)
Visual Art Grants for Artistic Collaboration and Dissemination
The EU funded “Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create” component of the Africa–Europe Partnerships for Culture is offering Visual Art Grants of up to €20,000 per team for collaborative visual arts projects.
This grant supports visual arts teams undertaking collaborative projects that result in publicly presented work. It funds the full artistic process — from co-creation and concept development through production to public presentation and practitioner capacity for audience understanding.
About the Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create Component
The Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create Component of the Africa-Europe Partnerships for Culture programme is implemented by the Goethe-Institut in partnership with Expertise France and Institut français. This €8 million programme runs for 42 months (2025–2028) and promotes genuine dialogue and cooperation between African and European cultural actors, fostering peer learning exchange, co-creation and mutual understanding.
Programme Approach
This component recognises that cultural innovation and professional development strengthen when visual artists and cultural professionals engage across borders. Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create Component prioritises peer learning exchange, positioning African practitioners as knowledge creators who shape continental cultural futures. This reflects its commitment to genuine equal-footing
partnerships.
Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create Component acknowledges that operating within European Union funding structures creates ongoing tensions between partnership rhetoric and institutional realities. Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create Component commit to honest engagement with these dynamics and to prioritising the voices, agency and knowledge of Sub-Saharan African visual arts practitioners throughout programme implementation.
What This Call Funds
The Core Offer
Up to €20,000 per team to support the creation and public presentation of collaborative visual arts work produced jointly by Sub-Saharan African and European practitioners.
Project Duration: 12 months (July 2026 – July 2027)
What is Funded: Everything required to develop an artistic concept collaboratively, produce the work, and present it to audiences. This includes artist fees, production materials, travel for creative collaboration, exhibition costs, and audience engagement activities.
What Sub-Saharan Africa, Connect & Create Component Don’t Fund: Standalone research or documentation projects. Residencies focused primarily on experimentation without a finished artwork. Capacity-building or training programmes. Market research or feasibility studies.
Success Looks Like This
By the end of 12 months, your team will have:
- Developed an artistic concept together
- Produced a finished artistic work (painting, sculpture, video, installation, photography series, digital art, publication-as-art-object, performance documentation, etc.)
- Presented that work to an audience (physically or digitally)
- Engaged audiences meaningfully with the work
- Built professional relationships that extend beyond the project
Who Can Apply
Teams only. Minimum 2 members; no maximum, however number of team members must make sense given the budget allocation.
All team members must:
- Be 18 years or older
- Be visual artists or professionals in visual arts disciplines:
- Visual artists
- Curators
- Exhibition designers
- Art directors
- Digital media artists
- Cultural managers with visual arts experience
- Other visual arts professionals
- Be currently based in Sub-Saharan Africa or the European Union
- Commit to equitable, dialogue-based decision-making on the project
Team lead (primary applicant):
Must be based in Sub-Saharan Africa
Geographic composition:
- All team members must be based in Sub-Saharan Africa, OR
- Team includes members from both Sub-Saharan Africa AND Europe
- Teams from a single country are eligible if all members are SSA-based
Who Cannot Apply
Applications will be rejected if:
- Any team member is under 18
- Any team member is staff or family of Goethe-Institut, Expertise France, Institut français, or EU Commission
- Any team member is under EU restrictive measures
- Any team member has been excluded from previous EU-funded projects
- Team members are based outside Sub-Saharan Africa or EU (except team lead provision above)
- Team lead cannot evidence SSA location or substantial professional engagement
VISIT THE PAGE HERE AND APPLY
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