By Ruba Hattar
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC announced running nine open call grants programs and one training program by nomination for 2022. Each grants program has one annual open call during which applications are submitted online.
The grants support individual artists and institutions through the following programs: Visual Arts (VA), Performing Arts (PA), Documentary Film (ADP), Arab Documentary Photography (ADPP), Creative and Critical writings (CCW), Research on the Arts (RAP), Music, Training and Regional Events (TR), and Cinema. The tenth program, Arts and Culture Entrepreneurship (ACE), targets arts and culture institutions through a nomination process. The AFAC support is extended through the grants cycle only. No support is given outside the open call.
AFAC receives annually around 1500 applications across all programs. The evaluation process happens in two stages: a preselection by a committee of readers and a final selection by a committee of jurors. Each program has its own specialized and independent readers’ committee and jury whose members are selected anew every year.
Previously, AFAC had run a number of other programs that are now closed. Those include: Literature grants program, AFAC Novel Writing Program, Crossroads, AFAC Express, and the Arab Documentary Film Program.
2022 Arab Fund for Arts and Culture Grants Programs
The call that opened on February 1st, will run for the various programs as follows:
Visual Arts: deadline-01 Apr 2022-announcement of winners 29 Jul 2022.
Performing Arts: deadline-01 Apr 2022-announcement of winners 01 Aug 2022
Creative and Critical Writings: deadline-01 Apr 2022-announcement of winners 05 Aug 2022
AFAC Documentary Program: deadline-01 Apr 2022- announcement of winners 03 Aug 2022
The Arab Documentary Photography Program: deadline-01 Apr 2022-announcement of winners 08 Aug 2022
Cinema-open call-01 May 2022-deadline-01 Jul 2022-announcement-30 Nov 2022
Music-open call-01 May 2022-deadline-01 Jul 2022-announcement-02 Nov 2022
Training and Regional Events-open call-01 May 2022-deadline-01 Jul 2022-announcement-04 Nov 2022
About AFAC
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture - AFAC was founded in 2007 through the initiative of Arab cultural activists as an independent foundation to support individual artists, writers, researchers, intellectuals, as well as organizations from the Arab region working in the field of arts and culture.
Since its launch, AFAC’s programs have steadily expanded to cover cinema, photography, visual and performing arts, creative and critical writings, music, documentary film, in addition to funding research, trainings and cultural events. Based in Beirut, AFAC works with artists and organizations all over the Arab region and the rest of the world.
“AFAC seems to consistently fund projects that push boundaries and are perceived as risky by other funders. They judge on artistic merit and don’t censor or interfere in content. They have made so many artists happy.”
