CultureCIVIC, led by Goethe-Institut Istanbul, continues with new open calls!
CultureCIVIC, led by the Goethe-Institut Istanbul, continues to support civil society organizations, artists, initiatives, and activists working in the fields of culture and arts in Turkey! The program, which started in 2021 and has supported 200 projects in the past 4 years, is making its first open call in its second 4-year period for the Grassroots Projects Grants. Designed to reach initiatives and individuals that have an impact on local communities and audiences, the Grassroots Projects Grants provide funding to NGOs, cultural producers, and activists working in the field of culture and arts. Applications for the program can be made through the Goethe-Institut’s Grant Application Portal from Thursday, 10 April on.
The program aims to strengthen civil society activities in the field of culture and arts in Turkey and provides support to projects and individuals that promote cultural dialogue and social participation, freedom of expression, democratic processes and pluralism against discrimination. Non-governmental organizations, initiatives, artists, and all individuals, institutions and initiatives working in the field of culture and arts, and all individuals, institutions and initiatives working in the field of culture and arts can benefit from the program, whose primary goal is to extend beyond the main cultural centers and strengthen Turkey's cultural infrastructure with a local and grassroots approach.
In the second four years of CultureCIVIC, which will be carried out on three complementary axes: Grant Programs, Capacity Building Program and Network Development Program. A total of 12 open calls will be made in grant categories for different needs and more than 170 projects will be supported until 2029.
Applications for the Grassroots Projects Grants can be made with projects such as exhibitions, online and printed publications, workshops-seminars-symposiums, concerts, performances, theater productions, educational programs in all art forms, journalism and documentary activities, collection and archiving activities, and film productions. Applications can be made via the Grant Application Portal between 10 April and 20 May, 2025, and detailed information can be found in the Application Guide.
Grants
Grants, which allocate a wide space to artists at the beginning of their careers, new cultural formations and actors who have a presence outside of metropolitan areas, aim to contribute to the development of dialogue, cooperation and communication in the fields of civil society and culture and arts in different regions of Turkey. Grants provide funding in four different categories, namely Grassroots, Structural Support, Intercity Networking and Art Production. The calendar of other open calls to be launched in 2025 can be found in the open call calendar.
Capacity Building and Networking Programmes Expanded
The Capacity Building Programme aims to strengthen the skills of artists, initiatives and civil society organizations operating in different cities of Türkiye in the fields of cultural and artistic project management and civic participation, while preparing the ground for cooperation and dialogue between these actors and contributing to the development of a more inclusive and sustainable cultural environment. The program, which consists of three components: webinars, project development workshops and civic participation workshops, will create webinar content for each of the topics of sustainability, inclusiveness and gender equality. The webinars will help participants integrate these themes into their project applications and work.
The content of the civic participation workshops to be held in 8 different cities will be shaped by needs analyses and feedback from participants. The workshops, which will be developed with experts in different fields from Turkey and the world, will be organized in formats such as interviews, panels, mentoring, group work, presentations and discussions. The workshops, which combine theoretical knowledge with practical applications, will address topics such as text production, curatorial processes, art in public spaces, and inclusivity in cultural and artistic events. A total of 120 participants will attend the workshops, while the recordings of the sessions will be uploaded to the website, ensuring wider accessibility and long-term impact.
A total of 60 participants will benefit from the workshops to be held in 4 different cities, with the aim of helping applicants develop their existing project designs and increase the quality of their applications.
Within the scope of the Networking Programme, network meetings to be organized in three different cities each year will encourage and facilitate dialogue and networking among stakeholders. These meetings will provide a platform for participants to exchange ideas, establish partnerships and share their work. Cultural professionals and civil society organizations will be brought together and supported to develop common proposals that bridge cultural sectors and geographical regions. In addition to contributing to the dissemination of project outputs, results and lessons learned, these meetings will also play an important role in creating synergy between actors and cultural professionals/organizations. The meetings will include workshops, presentations, hackathons, introductory sessions and joint exhibitions that will provide the basis for establishing collaborations. The network development events will bring together approximately 650 people in total.