Here’s Some Money for Artists

Screenshot of the Culture Fund website homepage

Are you an artist who is looking for money to fund your next book, film or dance project? Then perhaps the Culture Fund can help make your dreams come true as they already have for hundreds of Zimbabwean artists over the last two years.

^ A screenshot of the Culture Fund website homepage

The Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust is the only organisation I know in Zimbabwe that will provide funding to organisations and individuals alike.

According to the Culture Fund website, the following are considered for funding:

“Zimbabweans or residents of Zimbabwe with legal status and a proven history of work in the culture sector as follows:

Individual cultural agents operating independently or as a registered company
Artists who work in groups
Cultural Organizations
Cultural Institutions”

You just need to have a solid proposal and your chances are pretty good that you can get some money. See the list of approved projects for this year to see what I mean. A wide variety of groups and projects received funding.

By solid, I not only mean that your proposal should be workable, realistic and backed by a credible team or people who can implement it, but it should also align with the funding areas that are considered by the Culture Fund. Currently these are:

Cultural Heritage
Film -Audio Visual & Multi-Media
Fine Arts and Crafts
Literature and Languages
Performing Arts

And! There’s an interesting new twist to the funding process as from next year…

In his speech to mark the disbursement of grants to 2008, the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe board chairman made this interesting statement: “From 2009, the Culture Fund moves away from the once a year Call for Proposals and subsequent single disbursement.

We shall now invite stakeholders to send project proposals throughout the year, with disbursements being made at the end of the first and third quarters of each year.

It is our hope that these changes will provide greater access to application forms, ease the pressure to complete project proposals and may in some cases enhance the quality of submissions given the supporting mechanisms we are contemplating.”

Now that’s something worth getting excited about. So I say get those pens out and get those proposals written and ready!

And by the way- that Culture Fund website- it was designed by an interesting design house called Venekera Works.

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