WAYS

Many cultural organisations in Germany are intensifying their collaboration with international partners. There is a growing demand to organise these partnerships in a more fair and sustainable way. In addition to joint artistic work, it is becoming more and more important to engage in an equal dialogue about different expectations, resources and complex decision-making processes. For example, how do German and international theatre-makers select plays together when much of the material has never been adapted for the stage? How can exhibition architects learn from each other when certain standards of their work are different? How is the budget managed? Who holds the rights to collaboratively developed works? How do partners find a common approach to sustainability despite having differing views of what sustainability means? And what does a culture of openness and understanding look like in practice? 

A key factor in such processes is time. To enable cultural institutions in Germany to find new partners in non-European countries and implement long-term artistic projects, the German Federal Cultural Foundation has launched the programme WAYS – Towards Fair and Sustainable International Partnerships (formerly: Transcontinental Partnerships).

WAYS helps cultural institutions and independent groups in Germany to establish long-term artistic collaborations with non-European partners especially from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Oceania, and Central-, South- and Southeast Asia and to carry out joint projects over a period of years. A central focus of collaboration concerns fairness and sustainability, the terms of which the partners will jointly define in addition to developing their artistic projects in an equitable manner.

The WAYS programme consists of the Initiation Fund and the subsequent Fellows-at-Large Fund and Tandem Fund. Please note that you can only apply for the Fellows-at-Large Fund or the Tandem Fund if you've been funded by the Initiation Fund. Funding is awarded to contemporary projects in the areas of the performing arts, visual arts, literature, music, architecture, art and cultural history and cross-disciplinary combinations of these fields. The Executive Board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation is responsible for making the final funding decisions based on the recommendations of a jury of international experts. 

Roadmap of Collaboration for Fair and Sustainable Partnerships 

In consultation with an international group of 15 experts, the German Federal Cultural Foundation began by developing a Roadmap of Collaboration, containing key questions on equitable working practices. The roadmap should help the funded projects openly discuss the artistic and structural framework conditions for collaboration and provide orientation for further dialogue. The roadmap also encourages the projects to continue discussing the prerequisites for fair and sustainable partnerships. 

The Initiation Fund supports international research projects lasting up to ten months, dedicated solely to exploring opportunities of collaboration, becoming familiar with potential partners and ultimately initiating long-term partnerships. By conducting in-person visits, engaging in dialogue and holding workshops, potential partners should define and develop content-related artistic goals and forms of fair and sustainable collaboration. To this end, the prospective partners will jointly draft a Roadmap of Collaboration. The initiation phase culminates in the joint application for subsequent funding through either the Fellows-at-Large Fund or the Tandem Fund.
Large and medium-sized cultural institutions or independent groups based in Germany or a non-European country – especially in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Oceania, Central, South- and Southeast Asia may apply for Initiation funding. Individual persons are not eligible to apply.

The plan is to finance at least 60 initiation projects with up to 27,000 euros per project. The Initiation Fund has been allocated 1.62 million euros in total.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation is working together with the Goethe-Institut to carry out the Initiation Fund.

The Fellows-at-Large Fund finances two-year work visits (fellowships), during which fellows can carry out their own artistic projects and test innovative forms of fair and sustainable collaboration. This fund enables fellows from non-European countries to work at a cultural institution in Germany. Work visits in the other direction are also possible, i.e. fellows from a cultural institution in Germany are invited to work at a cultural organisation in a non-European country. During their stay, fellows become acquainted with the artistic and programmatic orientation of their host cultural institution and contribute new ideas and perspectives. They gain insights into the working methods there and can build a network of professional contacts to fellow colleagues and institutional partners. Only cultural institutions based in Germany are eligible to apply.  

The plan is to finance at least 12 Fellows-at-Large with up to 248,000 euros per fellowship. The Fellows-at-Large Fund has been allocated 2.976 million euros in total. 

The Tandem Fund finances four-year partnerships between German cultural institutions or independent groups and non-European cultural organisations or independent groups to carry out a joint artistic project. In this context, the partners are encouraged to explore and maintain equitable and sustainable working relations and exchange. The tandems should become familiar with the methodological and creative approaches of their respective partner and gain insights into their working methods at all hierarchical levels. The partners jointly decide on the goals, content and form of their collaboration. Only cultural institutions and independent groups based in Germany are eligible to apply.  

The Tandem Fund can finance at least 12 transcontinental tandems with up to 1.6 million euros per four-year partnership. The Tandem Fund has been allocated 19.2 million euros in total. 

The funded initiatives and projects should generate nationwide impulses for innovative formats of exchange with non-European cooperation partners. In order to generate greater public awareness and cultural-political visibility, the German Federal Cultural Foundation is planning a variety of communication- and knowledge-based formats.

Conferences and working groups

The German Federal Cultural Foundation plans to hold a “Conference for Fair and Sustainable Collaborations” in 2027, which will take place on several continents simultaneously. Germany will serve as the primary venue of the hybrid conference. At the conference, the public will be able to participate in discussions on current issues of fair and sustainable global cultural exchange with representatives from the fields of art, culture, politics and civil society, and learn about selected artistic projects. The conference will continue in the form of smaller working groups and culminate in a closing conference in 2030.

Knowledge transfer in academies

An international academy programme developed by the German Federal Cultural Foundation will accompany all three funds and offer participants a platform to discuss matters of international collaboration and to network amongst themselves.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation has allocated 27.59 million euros to finance the entire programme including accompanying conferences and academies for the funding period 2023 to 2031.