OPEN CALL

CATALYST GRANT 2020 – TEOR/éTica

With support from DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program with funds from the German Federal Foreign Office (AA)

Important dates

• Start of reception period: September 21st, 2020
• End of reception period: October 16th, 2020
• Public announcement of results: October 30th, 2020
• Online public event with grantees: Date to be determined, February 2021

Since 2014, TEOR/éTica has been awarding the Catalyst Grant. The objective of this grant is to support artistic organizations and collectives that have an important role in the transformation of the Central American and Caribbean cultural landscape, both on a local and international level. To contribute to the sustainability of smaller scale, non formal or non institutionalized initiatives is a way of building an artistic community capable of attending needs in a quicker, more coherent and experimental manner. In 2020, thanks to the generous support of DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program with funds from the Federal Foreign Office we will award up to three grants, with the aim of continuing our support for independent spaces and artistic organizations in Central America and the Caribbean archipelago. These have been dramatically affected by the social and economic consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Even though in the past this grant was given directly to organizations and collectives, this year the Catalyst Grant will be awarded via an open call. The grant consists of US $4.400,00 (four thousand four hundred american dollars) for each beneficiary. This money can be used to continue the work they have been doing, to expand their reach, or implement new dynamics, amongst other options. Our wish is to be able to recognize and contribute to artistic and cultural initiatives that have been operating in contexts with economic, social and political difficulties. Furthermore, we wish to highlight the importance of supporting these projects in their efforts to build community and activate ways for art to think critically about the present.

This open call also aims to contribute to create an updated map of artistic organizations in Central America and the Caribbean archipelago. This will be shared to the public at the end of this process. In the same way, at the end of the grant period we will open a conversation about the projects developed with the grant and how different organizations are facing the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.In a region characterized by the fragility of its cultural infrastructure, and with very little options for public or private funding for contemporary art, we believe the active labour this type of organizations do is crucial to the sustainability of our artistic ecosystem and to the growth of artistic practices that are critically and politically committed to their contexts.

Grant aimed at: Independent organizations and collectives from Central America and the Caribbean archipelago (this DOES NOT INCLUDE Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico) that are building community through contemporary visual arts, fostering the intersection of art and activism, having an impact on the public sphere, through understanding art as a common space from where to connect people and tackle urgent social issues.

Requirements:

• The organization and/or visual art collective has to be based in Central America and/or the Caribbean archipelago (this DOES NOT INCLUDE Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico)
• The organization and/or visual art collective has to have at least two years of existence
• Must be able to present documents that support the organization and/or visual art collective’s operation throughout at least two years
• We will prioritize organizations and collectives that have not been selected for this grant in the last two years
• The organization and/or visual art collective must be able to present an administrative report of the use of the grant in the first week of february 2021

Proposals that do not fulfill these requirements will not be considered

Amount granted: USD $4.400,00 (four thousand four hundred american dollars) to each organizations and/or visual art collective selected

Form of submitting applications: Each organization or collective must complete the following GOOGLE FORM

Grantee commitments: Each grantee must sign a contract where they agree to the following:

• Grant payment method
• Participation in an online public event in February 2021
• Submit an administrative report of activities by February 2021
• Matters regarding mention of the grant in the circulation of any material associated with it

Selection process: The received proposals will be revised by TEOR/éTica’s Collective Artistic Direction, alongside Maya Juracán (curator and activist, Guatemala) and Yina Jiménez Suriel (architect, researcher and curator. Dentro León, Dominican Republic). Through an internal discussion, up to three proposals will be selected.

The grant is subject to the provision of the funds by the German Academic Exchange Service