We are looking for innovative new ideas that can connect to local people and make a real difference to the diverse communities of Wales
From 01 September 2022, Arts Council of Wales will be opening the fourth round of the Connect and Flourish fund - a National Lottery funded programme designed to encourage collaborative projects between organisations, communities, individuals and creative professionals.
Expressions of Interest open on 01 September and will close at 5pm 20th October. Successful proposals will then be invited to submit a full application to a second stage in January 2023.
Connect and Flourish encourages and enables people in communities and places less well-served by the arts to define how they lead, take part in, and enjoy cultural activity. We want to support projects that foster longer term collaborative partnerships that can provide new and innovative ways of connecting with audiences and communities.
Since its launch in Autumn 2020, 71 projects have been funded to a value of over £6.5 million. A particular focus of the programme is to create more opportunities for unheard voices to contribute towards making the arts in Wales fairer, more representative, and accessible. The programme offers grants of between £10,000 and £150,000 over a period of up to 24 months for projects that emphasise collaboration, community ownership, cultural democracy, equality, diversity, fair work and being artist-led.
Guidance notes for the fund have now been published on the Arts Council of Wales website.
Leading up to the launch of the fourth round of Connect & Flourish we are hosting two online briefing events to help inform and guide potential Expression of Interest submissions in October 2022. In these sessions we will be providing an overview of the scheme, highlighting aspirations, developments and changes, hearing from existing projects and their experiences, as well as a question and answers session.
The first online event will be on the 7th of July at 10am and the second on the 6th September at 2pm. You can book on to these events here.