Beirut – September the first 2020
The Lebanon Solidarity Fund, jointly managed by Culture Resource and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC, launches an exceptional emergency initiative to support practitioners in the arts and cultural sector in Beirut, who were directly affected by the disaster of the port explosion.
Three weeks have passed since the catastrophe, and the assessment of damages and losses from physical and psychological injuries, destruction of homes and properties, loss of safety and dreams is still in its early stages. In light of the economic and health crises on one hand, and society’s refusal to treat the catastrophe as an accident the effects of which will soon dissipate on the other hand, a return to “normal life” is hingent on attempts that link rebuilding with the accountability of those responsible for the disaster
While this initiative builds on the efforts launched by Culture Resource and AFAC earlier this year to support artistic and cultural institutions in Lebanon in the face of the strenuous economic situation, and to support practitioners and artists in the Arab region in light of the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic, the main drive of the present initiative is to preserve some form of cohesion in the sector – in the absence of any role or action by the public sector – that would allow the sector’s members to continue to play their vital role in formulating critical discourses, documentation, questioning, challenging the status-quos, casting light on marginalized narratives, and broaching urgent issues with approaches that reshape our relation with the present and the past, and with politics and the public realm
In its first phase, the support will focus on individuals, including artists, technicians, and practitioners in the cultural and artistic sector who were directly affected by the explosion, whether through injuries, the destruction of their homes, or the loss of their equipment and their workplaces, through grants that range between $2000 and $5000.
Submission Guidelines
- Applicants must be residing in Lebanon and must hold the Lebanese nationality or the nationality of any other Arab country
- The submission procedure is through an open call, submissions can be registered through this link
- The submission deadline is 9 September, 2020 at 17:00 Beirut time.
Selection Process
Given the limited financial resources, support will be based on specific priorities, reviewed by an independent committee of cultural practitioners. The priorities are as follows:
Priorities in terms of damages
- Those who were physically injured;
- Those affected by the demolition of their homes (partially or completely);
- Those affected by loss of equipment and workplaces;
- Those affected by other damages (highlighted in the submission form)
Priorities in terms of nature of work and/or opportunities:
The support program will give priority to self-employed individuals (freelancers). Affected persons who work part-time or full-time can apply for support. These requests will be considered in light of the total number of submissions and available resources. Alternatively, they will be transferred to a second round of support as soon as additional resources become available. Beneficiaries of other emergency support initiatives can apply for support, but their access to additional support will remain dependent on the number of requests and the availability of resources. This will be taken into account when determining the value of the grant.
In conjunction with the launch of this support scheme, the Lebanon Solidarity Fund fundraising campaign continues to mobilize additional resources that enable us to support cultural and artistic institutions and spaces affected by the blast, in addition to a second round of support catered towards individuals if the needs arise.