Connections Through Culture is an arts grant programme run by the British Council in the UK and East Asia.
In August 2019, the Connections Through Culture Mobility Grant was launched in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, enabling visits, exchanges and collaborations between these countries and the UK.
Celebrating the diverse cultural expression in both regions, the programme offers support, information, advice and networking opportunities for professional development. Grantees both from the UK and the East Asian countries benefit from the inspiration gained from exchanging ideas and sharing their cultural history.
Grant Recipients
In Malaysia, we offered the grant to seven applicants in two application rounds, for travel and exchange between Malaysia and the UK. Some of the grant recipients shifted their projects online due to Covid-19 related travel restrictions.
Round 1
The Poet is the Poem
Elaine Foster (UK) x Anna Jonessy (MY) x Sheena Baharudin (MY) x Anthony Chong (MY)Collaboration with Anna Jonessy of BENTARAKATA, educator and poet Sheena Baharudin and Deaf educator Anthony Chong to create a unique showcase of Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (Malaysian Sign Language) through poetry
The Art of Falling
Hwa Wei-An (MY) x Richard Chappell (UK)Artistic exchange with British choreographer Richard Chappell Dance, Exeter Phoenix and DanceEast
Archival Thinking: Building and Managing Digital-Physical Archives of Resistance
Nadia Nasaruddin, Malaysia Design Archive (MY)Research trip to several British libraries and archives
Re-mapping Malaysian narrative through local stories, voices and talents
Qila Gill (UK) x Freedom Film Network (MY)Research trip to connect with Malaysian indigenous film festivals, filmmakers and artists with UK film festivals
Trance Mask Research & Development
Simone Tani (UK) x KL Shakespeare Players (MY)Project that connects with six KL Shakespeare Players actors using Trance Masks and Chinese Opera puppets culminating in a production of Shakespeare Demystified: A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC)
Round 2
Muzium Alam
Ayesha Keshani (UK)Research and development trip to two Borneo villages towards co-curating an interactive, online, experimental museum about nature in a coastal region in the west of Sarawak
Nada Nusantra
Marzelan Salleh (MY) x Hezarfen Ensemble (UK)Exploration of the transformational aspect of musical gesture in creating quasi-improvisational text and performance in theatre with Hezarfen Ensemble