Connections Through Culture 2026

Applications must involve collaboration between at least one UK-based partner and at least one partner based in an eligible participating country.  
 
Each partner must be legally based in the country they are applying from at the time of application and throughout the project activity period. 

Participating countries: 
Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Mainland China, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam. 

The maximum grant amount is awarded per project or partnership, not per partner. The grant must cover the full partnership activity, including costs for both the UK partner and the partner based in the participating country. 

Below are the grant amounts between UK-based partners and those in the countries indicated. 

• Up to £15,000: Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia.
• Up to £10,000: Mainland China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nigeria, Palestine, Philippines, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Balkans (including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia).
• Up to £9,000: Egypt
• Up to £8,000: Mexico
• Up to £7,500: Kenya
• Up to £6,500: South Africa
• Up to £5,000: Australia, New Zealand, Tanzania

Eligible applicants may include: 

• Artists and creative practitioners
• Arts and cultural organisations
• Festivals and biennials*
• Cultural professionals
• Creative hubs, networks and collectives
• Organisations working across arts, culture and the creative sectors. 

* Applications involving projects organised by, or taking place as part of, Visual Arts, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Craft festivals should be made by the festival or biennial organisation, rather than by individual artists, designers or practitioners. 

Projects can span a broad range of themes and art forms, including: 

• Architecture, Design, Fashion and Craft
• Creative Technology, including digital arts, XR/immersive, and games
• Film
• Literature
• Music
• Theatre and Dance
• Visual Arts 

Download the Applicant Toolkit below for the full eligibility criteria. 

Eligible activity may include:  

• Co-creation and collaborative* artistic development
• Residencies and exchanges
• Workshops, panels, talks and knowledge-sharing activity
• Research and development
• Collaborative exhibitions, performances, presentations and showcases
• Festivals and biennials activity
• Digital innovation
• Showcasing activity (including biennale and festival participation, where the showcase constitutes a collaborative project between partners in the UK and participating countries)
• Public programmes and audience engagement
• Artist, designer, practitioner or participant development
• Capacity building and shared learning
• Interdisciplinary or cross-artform activity 

*For further clarification of our definition of ‘collaboration’ please see our FAQs page.

We are running four online information sessions for differnt timezones to support you with the application process and answer any questions. 

Register here for the session(s) relevant to your application. 

All times listed below are UK (BST). 

• Tuesday 30 June, 8am-9:30am BST (BSL interpretation available)
  Tuesday 30 June, 3pm-4.30pm BST 
  General global information sessions
   
• Wednesday 1 July, 10am-11.30am BST 
  Global information sessions for Visual Arts, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Craft festival and biennial applicants.
   
• Wednesday 1 July, 3pm-4:30pm BST 
  Global information sessions for Visual Arts, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Craft festival and biennial applicants, and Creative Technology projects, including digital arts, XR/immersive, and games.

If you require access provision to complete your application, please contact us through the Enquiry Form. Please include appropriate details, such as the type of access provision requested, any estimated costs, a brief explanation of what the provision is needed for, and how it will support the applicant to complete the application.  

We encourage applicants to contact us as soon as possible so that we can respond to your needs in advance of the application deadline. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and we aim to respond within 3 to 4 working days.