Zad: Miles for Connection

Zad is a support framework designed to promote mobility and communication for artists from the Arab region residing in Europe. Its main objective is to develop their artistic and professional path in collaboration with their peers and across various artistic spaces and platforms. Additionally, Zad assists artists in reaching and engaging with different types of audiences, all while enhancing their contributions to public life within the cities and countries in which they reside and work.
Zad embraces the right to freedom of movement and considers it a vital opportunity for a generation of artists who were forced to relocate to Europe, mainly from the Levant region and from conflict-affected countries in the Arab region. It believes that overcoming any obstacles hindering artists’ engagement with the artistic scene in Europe and its audiences, including those who migrated from the Arab region, is essential for preserving the artists’ intellectual and critical presence in the discussions taking place at both artistic and public levels in their new places of residence.

Background

The Arab region has witnessed consecutive waves of migration over the past decade, bringing forth generations of experienced and gifted artists who are now embarking on their creative journeys in their new cities.

In most cases, the transition period proved to be challenging. It was marked by feelings of isolation and a scarcity of opportunities, necessitating a prolonged period of time to overcome the challenges and complexities of relocation. Many artists were able to enter the cultural and artistic scene in Europe, yet they found themselves facing complex challenges, including ones related to the mechanisms of production and representation, language, and the location of the Arab arts audiences in Europe.
These artists are currently facing new issues and challenges. Those include the exacerbation of Covid-19 repercussions and its disproportionate impact on them compared to their peers, the decline in interest in the Arab World’s issues amidst the emergence of new priorities in European contexts, the persistent economic recession and rising inflation rates impacting consumer spending and their influence on the prioritization of financing cultural asylum-related projects, the mounting threats to freedom of expression, and the difficulties associated with the artistic platforms that connect them to each other and to communities of Arab origins scattered across Europe. All of the above is accompanied by the rise of right-wing parties and their commitment to exclusionary and expulsive narratives. Under such circumstances, it becomes more and more necessary to create opportunities, foster solidarity, provide critical and open platforms, and create links that bring these artists together with the various societies in Europe, so that they continue to create, innovate, and retain their beliefs within the various societies and audiences they wish to address.

Zad supports the mobility of artists, individuals and artistic groups from the Arab region who are currently residing in Europe, regardless of their ethnicity. This support covers all artistic and literary specializations and is open to individuals of all ages. Some examples of this support include: presenting theatrical works and live artistic performances, concerts at music festivals, streaming films in cities and places where they have not previously been streamed, organizing or joining literary readings, organizing and relocating art exhibitions, and sharing the outcomes of artist residencies.

Zad provides financial contributions to display artistic works in new spaces. This support could cover mobility within the current country of residence or travel expenses within Europe, and it falls within three main categories:

• Travel and accommodation costs coverage: This includes transportation costs, internal transportation, daily expenses, travel insurance coverage, including any costs related to special needs or health conditions, and accommodation costs. This also covers the travel costs of children and partners as well as childcare cost, if the parents are unable to travel without them;
• Coverage of transportation and shipment costs of artworks and production materials; 
• Coverage of the costs of translating artworks into several languages and the costs of simultaneous translation during live meetings with the public.
• The program encourages the adoption of environmental and economic solutions, if possible, when considering travel options, such as using trains and shared public transportation that are less harmful to the environment, as well as opting for means of transportation that can be booked a sufficient period in advance.

Zad is being launched for a period of 3 years (2024-2026), as part of Ettijahat’s current strategic plan and based on the recommendations of the first ten years evaluation, which included designing additional frameworks for artists moving from the Arab region to diaspora countries.

Application Conditions

• All artists from the Arab region, regardless of their ethnic background, who have relocated to Europe since 2015, are eligible to apply to the program;
• The program gives priority to artists who moved from the following countries: Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, and Libya;
• Individuals and artistic groups have the right to apply to the program;
• Any artist who plays a major role in the artistic work and who needs support to travel can apply: director, writer, music composer, scenographer, producer, or curator, regardless of the nationality of the team who can benefit from ZAD’s framework;
• The program covers travel costs between all countries in Europe, and this includes travel within cities and regions in the country of residence;
• The program requires that the artist obtain an official invitation from the party or organization to which they want to travel, if the travel destination is different from the headquarters of the organizing party, and the organizing party must be an artistic or literary entity;
• Zad supports presenting the artistic or literary work to new audiences in new cities and/or countries where the artistic work has not been previously presented;
• The mobility of previously produced works and/or new works can be supported;
• The travel date must be at least two months after the results announcement date;
• An independent and specialized multicultural committee studies the applications, and the committees remain undisclosed until the results are announced.
• Applications can be filled out in Arabic or English, and invitation letters can be in any other language;
• Beneficiaries of other Ettijahat programs are not eligible to apply;
• Members of the Ettijahat team, members of its General Assembly, first-degree relatives of the team, and any artistic projects that involve cooperation with the Ettijahat team, are not eligible to apply;
• All applications undergo a fair evaluation. Members of the selection committee are not allowed to review applications from individuals with whom they have a first-degree kinship or with whom they collaborate on the submitted project. Instead, these applications are reviewed by other committee members;
• Recipients of grants retain full ownership rights to their artistic work, although they should mention “Ettijahat - Independent Culture” organization.

Application evaluation Criteria

• Artistic destination: The relevance of the destination in terms of its connection to the artist’s artistic experience;
• Audience: To what extent does the nature of the artistic event allow the artist to reach new audiences?
• Networking: To what extent does the event contribute to building cooperation and partnerships that open new horizons for the artist?
• Travel options: Are travel costs reasonable? Do they align with ZAD’s goals?

Key dates for 2024

• The deadline for receiving applications is May 31, 2024
• Results will be announced on July 15, 2024
• This first phase supports all mobility projects starting August 1st, 2024

• The deadline for receiving applications is September 30, 2024
• Results will be announced on November 15, 2024
• This phase supports all mobility projects starting December 1st, 2024

For inquiries, feel free to send an email to applications@ettijahat.org
To check the FAQ and to apply, please click here.