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Emiratis Invited to Apply for 2nd National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity

The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM
The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM
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Emiratis Invited to Apply for 2nd National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity

The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM
The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM

The Ministry of Culture has announced that it was accepting applications for the second cycle of the National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity (NGPCC) to offer grants to Emiratis with creative projects.

The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture designed to receive applications from across various fields, including Books and Literature, Music, Film and TV, Performing Arts and Theater, Visual Arts and Design, Video Games and Cultural Heritage. The program's second cycle will be accepting online applications until June 1.

The grant program covers the cultural and creative industries offering creatives a chance to showcase their work to local, regional, and international audiences leading to greater visibility of the UAE’s talent and local cultural production.

At the heart of this program lies the Ministry’s commitment to developing a thriving creative ecosystem in the country by fostering home-grown talent, advancing careers, and enabling further production of creative projects from the sector.

The first cycle of the National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity has awarded 26 emerging and established Emirati creatives in several cultural and creative fields. A few project outcomes include short films, published books, theater productions, a video game, as well as the participation of creatives within international residencies, performances, and art fairs in Venice, Egypt, Latvia, and Poland.

Speaking about NGPCC, Minister of Culture Salem bin Khaled Al Qassimi said that the launch of the second cycle of the program illustrates the unwavering support of his Ministry for the UAE’s cultural and creative industries and promoting the UAE’s national identity and heritage.

“Building on the success of last year’s cycle, we would like to expand the program’s reach and urge more creatives to come forward and submit their applications to benefit from this opportunity. By enabling talent through providing funding, we aim to enhance cultural production in the country and maximize exposure and presence for Emirati creatives locally, regionally and internationally while also enhancing the UAE’s position on the global cultural and creative map,” he added.

The program invites artists, designers, writers, musicians, filmmakers and other creative professionals to submit their proposals to the Ministry within four categories that cater to the specific needs of creatives. They include the Creation and Production Grant, Promotion and Local Participations Grant, Capacity Development Grant and International Travel and Mobility Grant.

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Culture

Afro-Brazilian Carnival Celebrates Cultural Kinship in Lagos

The festival helps to keep their heritage alive and celebrate the city's Afro-Brazilian history. TOYIN ADEDOKUN / AFP
The festival helps to keep their heritage alive and celebrate the city's Afro-Brazilian history. TOYIN ADEDOKUN / AFP
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Afro-Brazilian Carnival Celebrates Cultural Kinship in Lagos

The festival helps to keep their heritage alive and celebrate the city's Afro-Brazilian history. TOYIN ADEDOKUN / AFP
The festival helps to keep their heritage alive and celebrate the city's Afro-Brazilian history. TOYIN ADEDOKUN / AFP

Thousands of young and old descendants of formerly enslaved people donned elaborate costumes Sunday to bring the rhythm, vibrancy and colors of Brazil's Rio Carnival to the streets of Lagos in Nigeria.
The festival, albeit on a smaller scale than that of its Brazilian model, helps to keep their heritage alive and celebrate the city's Afro-Brazilian history.

After Brazil abolished slavery, some of those who had been enslaved returned to west Africa, settling in several countries including Nigeria and Sierra Leone, AFP said.

They brought with them Latin American culture -- dance, food, religion and colors -- that lives on today in pockets of the megacity of Lagos.
At Sunday's Fanti Carnival, a stilt-walking woman in a green-and-yellow dress with a yellow fascinator on her head danced rhythmically to sounds of loud drums and trumpets, sometimes stealing a hug from a man also performing on stilts.

Just behind them, a group of young men in striking face masks were preparing for a "dragon dance" using long rubber dragons similar to those that feature in Chinese New Year celebrations.

"We want to keep (our heritage) alive, very colorful... we love colors," said retired fine art teacher Onabolu Abiola, 67, dressed in the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag.

"During this period, we don't bother ourselves with the economic situation or whatever... everybody comes together to have fun," he added, breaking into an impromptu dance to traditional Nigerian Yoruba music.

'Story of hope'
"We are here to show culture, we are here to make history -- the celebration of culture is important," said 50-year-old Mayegun Musiliu as he walked with fellow performers. "This is how we sustain it."

Brazil was the last place in the Americas to abolish slavery when it formally ended the practice in 1888.

Many slaves were forced to adopt Portuguese names, and today in Nigeria, it is common to find people with Yoruba first names and Portuguese surnames.

One of them is Aduke Gomez, a 62-year-old lawyer and historian.

"The story of Afro-Brazilians is a story of tragedy... but it's a story of hope, it's a story of resilience," she said. Loud music blaring from speakers almost drowned out her words.

"Personally, I'm very proud to be an Afro-Brazilian descendent because when you think of the chances of how many people came back and when they came back -- they came back with nothing... and many of them worked and lived to become educated and were contributing positively."

The carnival, she added, "is not just a day, it's a tangible legacy of what my ancestors went through".

A little-known legacy
Another participant, renowned filmmaker and actress Joke Silva, 64, recalled how her parents always used to bring her to the Fanti festival as a child.

She said she now continued the tradition, bringing her children to the celebrations.
"There needs to be more interrogation on how the trauma of (slavery)... has been part of what we are today. But that is not to claim victimhood," she said.

The carnival represents a part of Nigeria's history that is not always well known -- though some are trying to change that.

Kelenchi Anabaraonye, 27, curated a history exhibition at the festival.

"I had friends who were named Pionero, Pereira, Da Silva, Gomez," said Anabaraonye.

"Back then I thought they were jesting with the names, because you have a Yoruba first name and why are your surnames foreign? I didn't know that there was some historical connection."