WE ARE (FOR) CIVIL SOCIETY: Call for Artivist Proposals

Civil society is under attack in many parts of the world. Such attacks can be legislative, administrative, financial or physical. Some categories of activists are particularly under threat – environmental, LGBTQI+, women – but none are exempt. Much work is being done to document these crackdowns and resistance to such measures. Less energy has been devoted to making the case for civil society, and more generally for human rights. 

While in the past we may have assumed that the majority of people think that civil society and human rights are a ‘good thing’, we are living in an era where the case for both needs to be made anew. While acknowledging that civil society is complex – it can be uncivil and well as civil - supporters of a progressive and open civil society need to tell its story and win the argument over its role and importance. Similarly, the case for human rights needs to bring them closer to people’s everyday concerns, reforging the social contract that holds the state and other forms of power to account, and speaking to people’s fears and hopes. 

In this context, we invite collaborative proposals from artists and activists working together seeking to communicate the value and contributions of civil society through art. Our focus is mainly on the visual arts, although other formats can be considered. 

Ten selected proposals will receive up to £4,000 each, which can be used as seed-funding to get a project off the ground or to boost an ongoing initiative. Successful applicants will be expected to make new arts-based work or interventions using the funding.

In articulating what exactly it is that civil society stands for, proposals can:

• Go beyond dry, technical and jargon-laden arguments to present the case for civil society in a way that appeals to people’s emotions, passions and hopes.
• Outline ways in which the language of human rights and civil society can be reclaimed from illiberal actors and causes.
• Identify macro-narratives to contest populist and authoritarian narratives such as ‘NGOs/civil society groups are foreign agents’, ‘we are under siege’ (from refugees, terrorists, etc.) and ‘make our country great again’.
• Consider the need to go beyond reactive responses (to abuses, new laws, etc.) to include proactive responses.
• Imagine alternative futures, for example from innovative ideas and interventions in the past or present.
• Suggest ways of moving beyond human rights and civil society each being understood in as a zero-sum game, where gains for one group are seen as entailing losses for another. 

Background

This call is a collaboration between the research project Art Rights Truth (ART) and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation.

ART is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (UK) and co-hosted by the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) and the History of Art Department at the University of York, UK. ART’s aim is to understand how the arts contribute to the development of new languages of human rights. A core part of the project is to commission new collaborative arts-based interventions. The project assumes that collaborative practice, notably between artists and activists, is crucial to the creation of such new languages. 

CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. It has a longstanding interest in artivism and in 2024-25 will be publishing a thematic report on this topic. Submissions to this call will be integrated into this research and related activities.

As this call is part of research projects both for CIVICUS and ART, successful applicants will also be included in relevant research in a light-touch way. We will also support dissemination of the artwork produced, through online and physical exhibitions, social media, at conferences and workshops, etc.  

Proposals

Proposals must not exceed three pages and must include the following: 

1. A brief profile/biography of the applicants 
2. A brief description of the proposed project, including how it responds to the call’s theme, whether it builds on existing initiatives or is a new collaboration, and which media/methodologies it will use. 
3. The main beneficiaries and audiences of the project of work and why the methodology/medium is appropriate for the local context. 
4. Details of additional sources of funding or contributions. 
5. The envisioned output(s) of the project. Outputs in local languages are encouraged.
6. A timeline for the delivery of outputs. Projects should begin between November and December 2024 and be completed by 31 December 2025. A final report or blog must be submitted by the end of the period.
7. The amount of funding you are applying for, and a brief justification in the form of a basic budget. Funds can be used for subsistence/salary costs, materials, or other reasonable costs. Most grants will be for around £4,000.

Proposals can include an appendix of up to two extra pages featuring examples of artistic work. Video proposals will be accepted, but videos shouldn’t exceed four minutes.