Braid Arts & Culture Fund

The Braid Fund sees the health of the art, culture and cultural heritage sector and its contributions to wider communities as a weaving of elements:  our disciplines, our practitioners, and our audiences. Intertwining these strands leads to improved relationships, new work, increased audiences and greater influence.  The fund, a collaboration between Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) and the British Council offers grants to innovative practitioners of art and culture projects in East Africa.

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Braid Arts & Culture Fund

The Braid Fund sees the health of the art, culture and cultural heritage sector and its contributions to wider society as a weaving of elements:  our disciplines, our practitioners, and our communities. Intertwining these strands leads to improved relationships, new work, increased connection and greater influence. The fund offers grants to innovative practitioners of art and culture projects in East Africa. This is a collaboration between the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) and the Cultural Heritage for Inclusive Growth (#CultureGrows) program by the British Council.

APPLY NOW
Collaboration and Champion Grants are now closed.

The goal of this fund is to increase the value assigned to art and culture by supporting innovations of cultural and arts practices and/or spaces to widen and deepen connections among practitioners and the wider community.  We hope to realise the following outcomes:

Art and culture practitioners discover and share innovative ways to reach wider audiences with their work.
Stronger relationships and skills developed across art/culture practices and generations
Increased knowledge and understanding of the value of arts and culture disciplines, practitioners and spaces

Grant Categories

Braid Fund offers grants for projects which demonstrate an innovation around any or all of the three outcome areas:

  • Art and culture practitioners discover and share innovative ways to reach wider audiences with their work.
  • Stronger relationships and skills developed across art/culture practices and generations
  • Increased knowledge and understanding of the value of arts and culture disciplines, practitioners and spaces 

The grants are in three categories as below:

Grant Categories
Amount Range and Grant Time Limits
Examples
Completion - CLOSED 
To support the finalisation of projects that have already started
100,000 – 200,000 KES

Up to 3 months
  • Example 1: Printing a vernacular, cultural heritage book that has already been written and designed by a cultural group in Bomet, Kenya
  • Example 2:  Post-production to finalise a music video incorporating AR
  • Example 3:  Marketing costs for a storytelling event at night in a parking lot
Collaboration - CLOSED 
To support collaborations between different generations and/or between different art/culture disciplines
300,000 – 500,000 KES

Up to 3 months
  • Example 1:  Performance that integrates traditional dancers and traditional ceremony with contemporary dance and drama
  • Example 2: Mentorship program and new music developed between pioneer, retired musician and several emerging musicians
  • Example 3: Museum project that integrates digital artists, writers and others in a campaign or exhibition highlighting the changing landscape of their community
Champion - CLOSED 
To support the local art and culture community and the Braid Fund community
500,000 – 700,000 KES

3 to 6 months
  • Example 1: Ugandan cultural organisation supporting cultural practitioners with rehearsal space and technical assistance to apply to Braid Fund.
  • Example 2: Tanzanian movie theatre offering space to show local films and helping to identify potential Braid Fund applicants.
  • Example 3: Kenyan cultural organisation offering meetups between young people and Traditional Elders and helping to support Braid Fund grantees with reporting.

Grant Categories

Completion - CLOSED 

To support the finalisation of projects that have already started

Amount Range
100,000 – 200,000 KES

Grant Time Limits
1 to 3 months

Examples

  • Example 1: Printing a vernacular, cultural heritage book that has already been written and designed by a cultural group in Bomet, Kenya
  • Example 2:  Post-production to finalise a music video incorporating AR
  • Example 3:  Marketing costs for a storytelling event at night in a parking lot
Collabortation - CLOSED 

To support collaborations between different generations and/or between different art/culture disciplines

Amount Range
300,000 – 500,000 KES

Grant Time Limits
1 to 3 months

Examples

  • Example 1:  Performance that integrates traditional dancers and traditional ceremony with contemporary dance and drama
  • Example 2: Mentorship program and new music developed between pioneer, retired musician and several emerging musicians
  • Example 3: Museum project that integrates digital artists, writers and others in a campaign or exhibition highlighting the changing landscape of their community
Champion - CLOSED 

To support the local art and culture community and the Braid Fund community.

Amount Range
500,000 – 700,000 KES

Grant Time Limits
3 to 6 months

Examples

  • Example 1: Ugandan cultural organisation supporting cultural practitioners with rehearsal space and technical assistance to apply to Braid Fund.
  • Example 2: Tanzanian movie theatre offering space to show local films and helping to identify potential Braid Fund applicants.
  • Example 3: Kenyan cultural organisation offering meetups between young people and Traditional Elders and helping to support Braid Fund grantees with reporting.

Grant applications should emphasize the sharing and development of art and culture with others, including but not limited to:  

  • Local communities leading defining, planning, protecting and managing their own cultural  heritage in sustainable and diverse ways through small projects
  • Projects merging contemporary and traditional practices resulting in new ways for more people to engage with and value East African art and culture in an inclusive way
  • Research combined with creative projects on new aspects of art and culture, which will contribute towards the visibility, growth or sustainability of the sector
  • Audience development (both local and international) for art and culture through the use and  application of digital tools and platforms, e.g. in partnership with art and culture sites and  initiatives in East Africa
  • Projects supporting the mentorship and knowledge transfer of art and culture and practices across generations of practitioners and audiences
  • Oral history projects including the exploration of new media to reach new audiences. 

Values of the Braid Fund

Equity and Inclusion

We are a diverse community of cultural practitioners with different languages, beliefs, genders, practices, educational levels, living arrangements, and more. The Braid Fund is committed to equitable and inclusive distribution and use of grants to reach all levels of our arts and culture communities. 

Bravery and Emergent Thinking

Philanthropy can be a difficult sector for our communities to navigate for support.  Together, we will find ways through this dynamic by being brave with our time and our resources and finding solutions with emergent thinking and experimentation with an eye on the overall systems and communities we aim to impact. 

Trust 

We will approach creating and administering this fund from a trust-based lens. Together with the communities we aim to support, we will develop systems of mutual trust, open communication and an interest in evolving this work through relationships and listening.

Community and Participation

We are a diverse and powerful community and we will work to grow the connections and relationships within the community (and across practice, age, borders, etc) to ensure that our art and cultural practices, audiences and opportunities grow.

Voice and Health

The health of our arts and culture sector, our practices, our sites, our art, our bodies, minds, families and communities are intrinsically linked to our ability to practice our fundamental freedom of expression, to preserve and protect our arts and culture and to connect with our audiences.

Transparency and Accountability

All of us will take seriously the responsibility of this grant in an open, transparent manner and will work to be accountable to all our partners, donors and the communities impacted with this fund. We will invest in the processes, connections and resources to help each other be accountable.  We will work together to ensure that the grants we award will reach far and wide and with the impact we all seek.

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Get Started

Braid Fund offers grants for projects which demonstrate an innovation around any or all of the three outcome areas:

  • Communities value art cultural and culture disciplines, practitioners and/or spaces more
  • Stronger relationships, skills and audiences across art/culture practices and generations are created
  • Art and culture practitioners discover and share innovative ways to reach wider audiences with their work

The grants are in three categories as below:

Ready to Apply

Click on the link to apply to the Braid Arts and Culture Fund

APPLY NOW
Collaboration and Champion Grants are now closed

Terms of Reference

For any questions on the Fund, kindly write an email to braidfund@ticahealth.org with the subject reading "Inquiry: Braid Arts & Culture Fund".  

Follow and engage with us on Instagram at @BraidFund
Credits: Images used on this page by Freepik