The British Council recently announced the recipients of the Connections Through Culture (CTC) Grant Programme 2024. This year, four collaborative initiatives from Bangladesh and the United Kingdom will be awarded with funding, and in total 84 innovative initiatives will be supported through this programme.
The CTC platform serves as a platform that encourages stronger partnerships and fosters vibrant collaborations between artists in the United Kingdom and Asia-Pacific.
This year’s grant cycle marks an exciting milestone as the programme expands to include South Asia, welcoming grantees from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka alongside those from Australia, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The CTC grant programme will provide over BDT 11 crore in funding across the Asia-Pacific region, of which more than BDT 60 lakh will be provided to initiatives involving participants in Bangladesh, enabling artists and cultural organisations to bring their creative visions to life.
These grants aim to build lasting cultural partnerships between the UK and Asia-Pacific regions that transcend borders, fostering dialogue, innovation, and mutual understanding. The British Council’s Connections Through Culture Grant Programme stands as a testament to the organisation’s commitment to cultivating international artistic connections and promoting the exchange of ideas and creativity.
The 2024 grantees represent a dynamic mix of initiatives across diverse disciplines, including film, creative technology, literature, visual arts, theatre, dance, design, fashion, craft, and music. The array of collaborative efforts across borders and artistic disciplines will lead to new thoughts and ideas created to address global challenges such as diversity and inclusion and climate change.
“We are thrilled to announce our 2024 grantees, whose initiatives showcase the incredible potential of cross-cultural collaboration,” said Sadia Rahman, Head of Arts at the British Council Bangladesh.
“These partnerships celebrate the richness of artistic exchange while tackling some of the most pressing issues of our time. We look forward to seeing the transformative impact of these initiatives as they come to life.”
Initiatives supported from Bangladesh include ‘Tiger Widow’ by Ergon Theatre (England) and YouthNet Global (Bangladesh); ‘Idrish’ by Adam Lewis Jacob (Scotland) and Drik (Bangladesh), ‘Neel Akash (Blue Sky)’ by Sampad (England) and Anandita Khan (Bangladesh), , ‘The Story of Maya: Genesis (The Making of The Story of Maya)’ by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (England) and Neel Kamrul (Bangladesh)