The open call for Circular Culture 2024 is now closed.

We thank the festivals that applied this year and congratulate the selected ones who, together with their partners from the United Kingdom, will promote sustainability and culture in Latin American and Caribbean cultural sector.

Stay tuned for further updates on Circular Culture on the British Council website and social media channels.

And remember: to participate in Circular Culture, it is necessary to have a partner in the United Kingdom. For guidance on finding a partner in the country and applying for the programme next year, please see our tips here.

Check out the selected festivals:

Festival Country City Sector
Festival Guateque Soundz Argentina Buenos Aires Music
Festival Internacional de Cine de Derechos Humanos (FICDH) Argentina Buenos Aires y Mendoza Film
ANIMA2024 – XIV Festival Internacional de Animación de Córdoba Argentina Córdoba Film
Festival Arte x igual Argentina Bariloche Visual Arts
Fiesta Federal de las Orquestas Infantiles y Juveniles de Argentina Argentina Chascomús Music
Kino Beat Brazil Rio Grande do Sul Multidisciplinary
Baguncinha, o Festival Brazil Cuiabá (Mato Grosso) Music
Festival Se Rasgum Brazil Belém - PA Film
Instituto Feira Preta / PretaHub Brazil São Paulo Music
Favela Sounds – Festival Internacional de Cultura de Periferia Brazil Brasília Music
CoMA e Latinidades Brazil Brasília Music
Meeting Of Favela 2024 (MOF)  Brazil Rio de Janeiro - Duque de Caxias Visual Arts
Ventana Sur 2025 Chile Santiago de Chile Performing Arts
Fluvial Chile Valdivia, Región de Los Ríos Music
Encuentro Internacional de Artes y culturas digitales - MASS 2025 Colombia Cali Visual Arts
La Movida FIAC Colombia Bogotá Performing Arts
Festival Afrodiáspora: la Nación del Ritmo 2024 Colombia Bogotá Visual Arts
Festival Internacional de Cine Golfo de Morrosquillo (FICGO) Colombia Golfo de Morrosquillo - Sucre Film
Petronio Power en Alianza con el Festival de Música del Pacífico "Petronio Álvarez" y El Centro 312 de La Universidad Icesi Colombia Cali Music
Festival De Arte Urbano De Mujeres IBANASCA  Colombia Honda Street Art
International Environmental Film Festival “Isla Verde”
Cuba  Isla de la Juventud  Film
Eyeife Woman Festival  Cuba  Havana  Music
The Shotlist Jamaica Kingston Film
GROUNDWORK Jamaica Kingston  Performing Arts
Calabash 2025 Jamaica St Elizabeth  Literature
Festival Internacional Cervantino  México Guanajuato Performing Arts
Luciérnagas para la Paz 2025 México Cuautla Visual Arts
What Design Can Do México GNP  México Ciudad de México Design
Muestra de Cine de la Mixteca México Oaxaca Film
Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara México Guadalajara Film
Conciencia & Soundsystem Peru Lima Music
Ipanamu: Festival de Arte (SOS)tenible Peru Cocachimba Visual Arts
Mi Primer Festival, 10 Años Peru Lima Film
Festival Internacional De Cine De Montaña - INKAFEST Peru Arequipa Film
Welcome to Freetown Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad Music
Siparia Cousoumeh Festival Trinidad and Tobago Siparia  Multidisciplinary
Festival: ¿Qué significa ser caraqueño? Venezuela Caracas Photography
Festival Círculo Escénico Venezuela Caracas Performing Arts
Festival Ascenso de Fotos y Videos de Aventura Venezuela Caracas Video and Photography

Culturally sustainable development brings together economic, social, and environmental dimensions and underscores the importance of growth, equity, and the value of culture. Recognising culture's role as a facilitator and agent of change for sustainable development, the British Council announces the opening of applications for the 2024 Circular Culture Programme selection process. 

Circular Culture is an initiative by the British Council developed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. It provides financial and training resources to promote artistic exchange between Latin American, Caribbean (LATAC) countries, and the United Kingdom, strengthening cultural festival offerings and promoting the development of a sustainable cultural sector. Additionally, Circular Culture is committed to professionalising the LATAC cultural sector and offers a training scheme for managers with UK experts to integrate sustainable development skills into their cultural management practices. 

The Circular Culture Grant offers a total fund of £350,000 (GBP) and is aimed at cultural and artistic festivals - both in-person and digital - taking place in the aforementioned countries. Festivals interested in collaborations, artistic exhibitions, or training activities with British professionals, as well as fostering changes in attitudes, narratives, and practices related to sustainable culture, are encouraged to apply. 

The programme reinforces our commitment to promoting festivals, recognising their importance in the dynamics of cities and the promotion of contemporary artistic creation and the expansion of sustainable practices, always championing: 

  • The exchange between artists, creators and local managers 
  • Public access to international artists/creators/researchers/scientists 
  • Opportunities to provide technical skills for sustainable development through training 
  • The development of knowledge networks 
  • Global cultural exchange

Did you miss our Q&A? Watch it here:

Requirements to be a beneficiary of the Circular Culture funds

  1. The proposal must demonstrate a commitment to implementing sustainable practices that reduce the festival's environmental impact. 
  2. A partnership with a United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales) counterpart is mandatory, and a letter of intent to collaborate from them should be included in the application. It is the responsibility of the festival applicant to establish contact and reach an agreement with the British partner. The British Council does not maintain a central artist directory, and festivals have the freedom to approach relevant artists or organisations. However, here you can find tips on how to find this partner. 
  3. The British partner should actively contribute to the festival activities, such as performances, talks, workshops, etc. The involvement will depend on the nature of the intended activity within the festival. 
  4. The proposed projects can be multidisciplinary, encompassing at least one of the disciplines mentioned in the call (visual arts, film, dance, architecture, design, fashion, literature, music, or theatre). 
  5. Only individuals who can issue tax receipts and whose main activity is related to the cultural area of the main product presented in the proposal may participate in this call. Please  review the document with specific considerations for your country.

What’s new? Our categories now consider the audience size!

One of the main objectives of the programme is to train festival managers in sustainable practices.  This year, we're taking a fresh approach to ensure a more equitable distribution of funds by focusing on festival reach. Our categories now consider the audience size, whether it's face-to-face, online, or a mix of both.  

Group 1 (Categories A to F) encompasses festivals expecting up to 10,000 attendees and applying for up to £12,000 

Festival proposals within this group should include an artistic collaboration with the UK and a commitment to participate in the training and mentoring activities provided by the programme. While demonstrating initiatives to improve sustainable practices is desirable for festivals seeking funds in this category, there is no specific requirement to allocate a certain percentage of received funds to such activities. These can be proposals that can be worked on with Circular Culture mentors to implement in the future. 

Group 2 (Categories G and H) caters to festivals expecting over 10,000 attendees and applying for £15,000 to £20,000 

Proposals within this group must incorporate an artistic collaboration with the United Kingdom and a commitment to engage in the training and mentoring activities offered through the programme. Additionally, festivals in this category are required to allocate 20% of their funds towards sustainable operations, like: transport, food, water, energy, waste management, local biodiversity, air quality, or responsible marketing initiatives. 

Activities 2024/25 Description
Start date of the call April 22, 2024
Closing date of the call May 31, 2024
Announcement of selected festivals June 20, 2024
Fund transfer Up to 90 days after the announcement of selected festivals