CultureCIVIC
CultureCIVIC, a European Union project, continues to support civil society organizations, artists, initiatives and activists operating in the field of culture and arts in Turkey, under the management of Goethe-Institut Istanbul.
With a goal to reach beyond the major cultural hubs of Turkey, the programme targets individuals and institutions nationwide with 12 open calls in four grant categories, and expects to fund over 170 projects by 2029.
CultureCIVIC supports projects and individuals that encourage cultural dialogue and public engagement, tolerance, freedom of speech, non-discrimination, social cohesion, individual freedoms and democratic processes. Prioritising the reach beyond the major urban centres to strengthen Turkey’s cultural infrastructure with a grassroots approach, the programme is open to all cultural civil society organisations, initiatives, artists and any individuals, institutions and enterprises with a non-profit mindset.
CultureCIVIC is implemented on three axes that complement each other: Grants, Capacity-Building and Networking Programmes.
GRANT PROGRAMMES
The project aims to contribute to the development of dialogue, collaboration and communication in the arts and culture sector across the country by supporting especially emerging artists, new cultural initiatives and actors that have a strong presence beyond the major urban centres. The grant programme that provides funding for artists, art professionals and cultural institutions features four different categories: “Grassroots Projects”, “Structural Support”, “Inner-City Networking”, and “Art Production”. Priority is given to those activities which support rights-based activities, bringing together actors from different ethnic, religious, linguistic backgrounds and giving special importance to cross-cutting issues such as promotion of gender equality, LGBTI+ rights, social cohesion, human rights, freedom of expression and children's rights.
Designed to reach individuals and initiatives with an impact on local communities and audiences, the Grassroots Projects Grants provide funding for CSOs, cultural producers and activists who want to produce projects in the field of arts and culture.
Structural Support Grants aim to strengthen the operational capacity of organisations to function independently and to sustain their operations by providing structural support. These grants extend financial support to institutions, professionals and civil society organisations in the arts and culture sector to capacity-build in education, rent and infrastructure. One long-term goal of the programme is to provide access to a larger public for their engagement in arts and culture projects and events.
Encouraging nationwide interaction and network building opportunities, Inter-city Networking Grants focus on fostering the dialogue and collaboration between actors from different cities. The aim of this programme is supporting inter-city projects.
Art Production Fund is intended to support stand-alone productions by emerging visual artists who will work in tandem with well-established mentors from the art scene of Turkey throughout the implementation of their project.
CAPACITY-BUILDING PROGRAMME
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 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 consists of three components: webinars, project development workshops and civic participation workshops.
Webinar content will be created for each of the topics of sustainability, inclusiveness and gender equality. The webinars will help participants integrate these themes into their applications and projects.
Workshops aimed at strengthening civic participation will take place in 8 different cities. The content of the workshops will be shaped by needs analyses and feedback from participants. The workshops, which will be developed with experts in different fields from Turkey and abroad, 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 have the opportunity to participate in civic participation capacity building workshops. Recordings of the sessions will be uploaded to the learning area of the CultureCIVIC website, ensuring wider accessibility and long-term impact.
Four workshops, which will be held in different cities, will aim to increase the quality of the participants' project applications and to develop their existing project designs. A total of 60 participants will benefit from these workshops.
NETWORKING PROGRAMME
Within the scope of the Networking Programme, three meetings will be organized each year to 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 to support the development of common proposals that bridge both the cultural sectors and the 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 networking events will bring together approximately 650 people in total.