Celebrating social arts practice through intercultural partnerships between the UK and Germany

Cultural Bridge supports arts and cultural organisations across the UK and Germany to develop partnerships that explore social arts practice.


By enabling new and existing connections, Cultural Bridge supports a growing network of organisations committed to sharing expertise and skills, exchanging ideas and collaborating on artistic practices and projects that explore themes and issues faced by communities across both countries.

Through co-investment from Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London and Wales Arts International / Arts Council of Wales, Cultural Bridge has so far supported 35 partnerships through 42 awards, across three rounds of funding since its pilot year in 2021 and has recently announced two further years of funding until 2027. Applications for the 2025 - 2026 programme are now open, find out more. 

Cultural Bridge partnerships explore a wide range of themes and artforms, from prison theatre, youth led and disability work, climate change, migrant activism, feminism, rural arts, environment-based art and more.

Find out more:

Applications for the 2025 - 2026 Cultural Bridge programme are now open - access the portal and read the full guidance

Explore the current and previously funded partnerships

Read the latest programme and partnership news on the blog


Evaluating Cultural Bridge:

The Cultural Bridge programme has commissioned tialt (there is an alternative) to evaluate the programme and understand key learning and impacts on the partnerships, participants and communities involved. 

Read the 2021 - 2022 pilot year evaluation in English

Read the 2021 - 2022 pilot year evaluation in German

Read the 2023 - 2024 programme evaluation in English

‘Funding empowers collaborative exchange, laying the groundwork for sustained partnership and meaningful community involvement’ Cultural Bridge funding awardee

‘a rare opportunity to build a cross-border partnership in a manageable, step-by-step way.’ Cultural Bridge funding awardee

Image: The MAC and coculture e.V. from their Tier 1 partnership, At The Table

The 2024 - 2025 projects:

ARCHITEXTS OF CHANGE

– Partners: Angeprangert! Spoken Word (Weißwasser, Germany) and Young Identity (Manchester, England)

Bridging Rural Communities - People, Process, Places

– Partners: Dyffryn Dyfodol CIC (Llanrwst, Wales) and Syndikat Gefährliche Liebschaften (Quakenbrück, Germany)

Chemnitz & Manchester Residency

– Partners: Quarantine (Manchester, England) and ASA-FF e.V./ Freundinnen- und Förderkreis Arbeits- und Studienaufenthalte in Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika (Chemnitz, Germany)

Co-creating across borders: A tale of two cities

– Partners: Brighton People's Theatre CIO (Brighton, England) and English Theatre Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany)

Collectively Crossing: Affiliation Bridges

– Partners: Kunstverein Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany) and Bistro 21 and Bidston Observatory Artistic Research Centre (BOARC) (Prenton, England)

Colour Stories. Sharing journeys of a dyer's garden

– Partners: artpark Hoher Berg UG gemeinnützig (Schermbeck, Germany) and Brink! (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

Common Values, Shared Dreams

– Partners: The Mighty Creatives (Leicester, England) and Werkhaus e.V. (Krefeld, Germany)

Empowering mixedabled/inclusive dance across international communities

– Partners: Anjali Dance Company (Derby, England) and com.dance (Horben, Germany)

Feminism and Migrant activism

– Partners: Stellar Quines Ltd (Fife, Scotland) and MPower (Berlin, Germany)

New sustainable models for artist-led spaces

– Partners: Assembly House CIC (Leeds, England) and E-WERK Luckenwalde (Luckenwalde, Germany)

The Invisible City

– Partners: Tortoise in a Nutshell (Edinburgh, Scotland) and Theater Gruene Sosse (Frankfurt, Germany)

Uncomfortable Dialogues - Unveiling Marginalized Black Experiences through Dance, Film, and Storytelling

– Partners: MINCE e.V. (Berlin, Germany) and Miss Lulu Creates LTD (London, England)

Unlocked

– Partners: Geese Theatre Company (Birmingham, England) and aufBruch (Berlin, Germany)

Wetland: sharing practices of care and hospitality to engage communities and redefine former industrial spaces

– Partners: Cement Fields (Kent, England) and Floating e.V. (Berlin, Germany)

An Audio Hunt in Easterhouse

– Partners: Produced Moon (Glasgow, Scotland) and Storydive (Hamburg, Germany)

ENTER: Robots exchange

– Partners: Hijinx Theatre (Cardiff, Wales) and tanzbar-bremen e.V. (Bremen, Germany)

Let the Grassroots Grow

– Partners: SET Centre CIO (London, England), Videocity and riesa efau (Dresden, Germany)

My Body is my Castle

– Partners: 4.D (Dortmund, Germany) and ACCA (Leeds, England)

Rap School of Life - Improving Language and Mental Health

– Partners: Kanzi GmbH (Berlin, Germany), Forward Ever Education CIC and Hip Hop HEALS (Birmingham, England)

The Shake

– Partners: The MAC (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and coculture e.V. (Berlin, Germany)

The 2023 - 2024 projects:

Illuminate Together

– a collaboration between Handmade Parade (England) and Kapuziner Kreativzentrum (Germany)

Co-creating with young voices

– a collaboration between Mahogany Opera Group (England) and Frequenz_Festival Kiel (Germany)

Bespoke

– a collaboration between Make Works Scotland 'Paved with Gold' (Scotland) and Kulturzentrum LUISE (Germany)

Going spaces: forming new connections and fostering collaboration

– a collaboration between Motorenhalle Dresden (Germany) and SET studios London (England)

Our EARTH Hour

– a collaboration between MOTTE eV. Stadtteil & Kulturzentrum (Germany) and Head4Arts (Wales)

Playing with Audio Walks: Storydive meets Produced Moon

– a collaboration between Produced Moon (Scotland) and Storydive (Germany)

Growing Together to Facilitate Community Stories

– a collaboration between THE bEAR e.V. (Germany) and Open Past (Scotland)

At the Table

– a collaboration between The MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) (Northern Ireland) and coculture e.V. (Germany)

Strictly Scottish and Schottisch

– a collaboration between Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland (TDFS) (Scotland) and Folk Dance Society of Germany (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkstanz e.V.) (Scotland)

Femxle Spaces

– a collaboration between vier.D (Germany) and ACCA/ Slung Low (England)

In Each Other's Company

– a collaboration between National Dance Company of Wales and Of Curious Nature (Germany)

ENTER

– a collaboration between Creative Black Country (England) and Kuturvilla Nellie (Germany)

FAILSTONE

– a collaboration between Folkestone Fringe (England) and Fine Arts Institute Leipzig - FAIL (Germany)

Spree ~ Channelsea Radio Group

– a collaboration between Soundcamp CIC (England) and Archipel Stations (Germany), with Blanc Sceol / Surge Cooperative and Radio Otherwise

Ode to Earth (Phase 2)

– A collaboration between VILLA Leipzig (Germany) and Beyond Skin & DU Dance (Northern Ireland)

Partners

  • Arts Council England
  • The Arts Council of Northern Ireland
  • The British Council
  • Creative Scotland
  • Fonds Soziokultur
  • Goethe-Institut London
  • Wales Arts International