CALL FOR APPLICATIONS CULTURAL & ARTISTIC RESPONSES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS

The climate crisis is here, affecting millions in various ways and magnitudes. However, it is the Global South that is disproportionally faced with the most extreme outcomes of our climate collapse, exposing the social and political inequalities entrenched within our societies. 

Artists and cultural practitioners are actively responding to these ongoing crises. Through art and culture, they communicate and document socio-environmental injustices, initiating practices that nurture their communities and ecosystems while articulating connections and new perspectives on possible futures. In one of the most challenging periods in our planet's history, culture is indispensable in envisioning a different path forward. 

Cultural & Artistic Responses to the Environmental Crisis (CAREC) is a year-long programme aimed at accelerating engaged community-based cultural practices with a focus on climate justice that acknowledge the social, political and economic dimensions of the environmental crisis. Through this programme, we create an interdisciplinary platform to support critical artistic work, connect engaged practitioners, stimulate cross-disciplinary exchange, and centre non-hegemonic forms of knowledge to envision alternative models of climate justice worldwide.  

CAREC brings together 12 mid-career artists and cultural practitioners (± 8-15 years of relevant professional experience) with four mentors, all working across a range of disciplines and environmental issues. Each artist receives an award of €10.000 to work on the concept for a body of work that they outline in their application.  

To encourage collaboration within the cohort and to support each artist in their individual practice, this programme incorporates various forms of interaction, including workshops, guest talks, and peer-to-peer sessions. Since participants come from different locations, most activities are conducted online. However, twice during the programme, they convene in person for two Lab Weeks, which are week-long mentoring intensives. Additionally, there is a collective project in the form of a publication and a web space.  

The programme activities require an average time commitment of 10 hours per month, though this varies throughout the year. Moreover, participants should be comfortable sharing ideas in spoken English to foster a space of mutual learning and exchange.

Meet the Cycle 3 cohort here!   

The deadline for the submission of project applications is 21 March 2024, 17:00 CEST.   

Please see the detailed guideline on the Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply pages mentioned above before filling in your application on the Prince Claus Awards Platform via the button below. Kindly note that only completed applications that are submitted via the Prince Claus Awards Platform will be considered.

About Cultural & Artistic Responses to the Environmental Crisis

This Mentorship Award was set up by the Prince Claus Fund and the Goethe-Institut, building on the valuable experience gained from their collaborative project-based support. This joint initiative provided backing for a total of 54 exceptional projects worldwide from 2018 to 2020, with examples of these showcased on takemetotheriver.net. In 2021, the programme was transformed into a mentorship, through which we have jointly supported 36 artists.

Now, with the launch of call for applications for Cycle 4, and after seven fruitful years, the partnership with the Goethe-Institut has come to an end.