British Council launches Pakistan–UK creative collaboration programme

The British Council has launched Pakistan/UK: New Perspectives (March to August 2022) to mark the 75th anniversary of Pakistan.

The programme acknowledges and builds upon the deep cultural ties between Pakistan and UK, and features a cultural programme spanning theatre, film, visual arts, sustainable design and architecture, digital platforms, music, literature, museums, broadcast and dialogue, capacity and skills building, research, and interdisciplinary commissions.

The programme explores the following themes:

Culture and heritage
Environment and sustainability
Women and girls

Some programme highlights include:

New Perspectives: An open call that has awarded four grants to proposals co-developed between Pakistan and UK partners that offer opportunities for cross-cultural creative practices, knowledge exchange and new artistic work.

Go Digital: Pakistan – Wales: Three new partnerships between artists and arts organisations in Wales and Pakistan. One of the partnerships, between Puppet Soup in Wales and Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop in Pakistan, is co creating new digital puppet theatre, developing puppetry masterclasses, and founding a new puppetry festival which will be presented online.

Art South Asia Project (ASAP): A UK-based arts education and development agency that will support three initiatives to widen the engagement with contemporary visual arts through Pakistan and its diaspora.

Saahil ki Kahaaniyan – Stories from the Coast: A collaborative project by Karachi-based Koel Gallery and the Birmingham-based Transforming Narratives Project, aiming to raise awareness through artistic engagement of the impact of climate change on the coastal areas of Pakistan, particularly its fragile Mangrove Ecosystem, with a view to promoting sustainable coastal development.

Pakistan Stories: Support for a new generation of female Pakistani documentary filmmakers, in collaboration with Patakha Pictures in Pakistan and Scottish Documentary Institute in the UK.

Keep an eye on the activity calendar or explore the full programme.