New Democracy Fund: Residencies for Belarussian Artists and Cultural Practitioners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine)
New Democracy Fund is initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and is led by a consortium of five Danish organisations. NDF is built on dialogue, cooperation, and aims to create new and strengthen the existing relations between civil society organisations in the Eastern Neighbourhood Countries and Denmark.
The NDF residency appeared as a response to the socio-political crisis in Belarus which has already lasted for more than 1.5 years. Since the start of this crisis in summer 2020, hundreds of thousands of persons have been affected by it: many of them were detained or sentenced to prison, had to leave the country, or live under high pressure. This programme has been created in partnership with the CSOs from the Eastern Neighbourhood countries, including Belarusian Council for Culture.
NDF residency programme offers placements to Belarusian art and cultural professionals (artists, musicians, writers, curators, managers etc.) regardless of their age or place of current residence (due to financial constraints, the organisers will be able to cover travel costs only between countries situated in Europe) and the preference will be given to those who:
- have suffered from political repression;
- were forced to flee the country or were unable to continue their activities staying in Belarus;
- whose human/ cultural rights have been violated;
- and whose freedom of artistic expression is restrained.
The programme aims to provide a safer environment for artists and cultural professionals to continue their activities, gain inspiration, and connect with their colleagues from the Eastern Neighbourhood region. During the residency activities, participants will address and promote the topic of cultural rights through engagement with the local community.
There is no requirement to produce a final artistic product unless the resident decides to do so. Residents can use this space and time for conceptualising, finalising their ideas, or planning future activities. Participants will be invited to engage with the hosting organisation, hold several meetings with the local community and share their knowledge, skills, and experiences as well as promote the importance of cultural rights as an essential part of human rights.
The residency offers a total of 11 placements in 5 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Travel, accommodation and per diems are covered. Other conditions depend on each country-host.
Deadline: 13 March 2022
