BRITISH COUNCIL AWARDS 19 GRANTS TO UK-KENYA CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS PROJECTS

The British Council has chosen 19 pioneering projects to receive Catalyst Grants, marking a crucial advancement toward the upcoming 2025 UK/Kenya Season. 

The grants are designed to spark new connections, exchanges, and collaborations between artists, creative professionals, and cultural organisations in the UK and Kenya.

Joyce Nzovu, Arts Project Manager – Kenya, stated, “The Catalyst Grants are an essential step in fostering cultural exchange and creative collaboration between the UK and Kenya. Supporting these exchanges enables artists from diverse cultures to connect, innovate, and share ideas. The wide range of art forms creates meaningful opportunities for artists to engage, learn from one another’s experiences, explore new ways of working together, and spark fresh ideas that can inspire future innovation in the arts.”

The Catalyst Grants will fund a variety of diverse projects and themes, including a collaborative theatre production between Kenyan and UK theatre companies. One notable initiative is Making Space, a partnership between Transform Festival in the UK and The Godown Arts in Kenya, which will examine young people’s interactions with public spaces in Leeds and Nairobi.

Another initiative, the Nairobi to Manchester Standup Comedy Exchange, spearheaded by Kenya’s Douglas Mutai of Standup Collective and Creatures Comedy (UK), aims to connect the comedy scenes in Nairobi and Manchester through live performances, workshops, and discussions.

The Power of The Sound System, a project led by Outlook Festival (UK) and Umojah Sound System (Kenya), will tackle challenges in the Kenyan music industry, collaborate with the Deaf Centre, and explore new music production technologies.

Kenya’s Afrigamer and the UK’s 492Korna Klub will delve into the potential of gaming to drive social activism and address climate change issues. This project will engage young gamers and developers in Kenya through participatory theatre, storytelling, and role-playing activities.

The grant also fosters cultural exchange and dialogue among gamers, artists, developers, and climate change advocates. The partners will work together to experiment and innovate beyond conventional game design, with the support of Afrigamers and their network.

Tom Porter, the British Council’s Country Director and East African Cluster Lead, remarked, “The Catalyst Grants showcase a diverse range of art forms — photography, theatre, visual arts, music, comedy among others — highlighting the rich creativity of Kenya and the UK. We are excited to see the impactful outcomes of these collaborations.”