Are you an artist or cultural professional seeking funding for international travel to attend a conference, residency or training? In recognising how integral mobility is for artists and cultural professionals, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) launches Mobility First! Through this new initiative, ASEF supports the mobility of artists and cultural professionals for cross-border activities that include participation in events, networking, research and collaborative meetings. Mobility support is provided to selected individuals for travel from Asia to Europe, Europe to Asia & within Asia. Mobility First!, the new ASEF cultural mobility initiative, is being launched to commemorate ASEF’s 20th anniversary in 2017 and builds on its support to mobility over the last 20 years. Through Mobility First!, ASEF seeks to reaffirm the importance of face–to-face encounters not only in knowledge and experience sharing, but also in setting up long-term alliances and partnerships based on trust, reciprocity and fair exchange.

Who can apply?

Individuals and organisations actively involved in the field of arts and culture who are eligible as per following guidelines: Individuals

• Artists and cultural professionals from any artistic genre (such as visual arts, performing arts, film, heritage etc.) may apply.
• Artists are defined as those directly involved in the production of artworks in any genre of the arts.
• Cultural professionals are defined as others working in the field of arts and culture such as curators, arts writers (including critics), arts managers, researchers etc.
• Applicants should be citizens of member countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and seek support for travel within the ASEM region.
• Applicants may seek travel support to participate in any of the 7 types of eligible activities listed below in the section on "What types of activities are supported?"

Organisations

• Cultural organisations may apply to become ASEF’s partners; selected organisations will co-select individuals who will receive support to attend specific events organised by the partner (e.g. arts festivals, conferences). Selected partner organisations are expected to organise the event as well as to provide selected persons with local contacts and context. For example, an arts organisation organising a photography festival may wish to apply to Mobility First! and together with ASEF, will co-select 4 photographers who will be given ASEF’s support to be present at the festival.
• Cultural organisations that operate in any artistic or cultural genre may apply. Non-profit arts organisations will be prioritised.
• Cultural organisations should be based in any of the ASEM member countries and operating in the ASEM region (nationally or bi-regionally).
• Organisations should be applying for travel support for individuals to participate in any of the 7 types of eligible activities listed below in the section on "What types of activities are supported?"

What types of activities are supported?

Through this initiative, ASEF supports the mobility of artists and cultural professionals for the following 7 types of activities:

• Participation in workshops, conferences, festivals, biennales, networking sessions
• Participation in artists’/writers’ residencies
• Participation in culture-related training
• ‘Go and see’ or short-term exploration visits
• Participation in practice-led research
• Participation in partner meeting/s for exchanges and collaboration (to set up new cross-border collaborations)
• Participation in transnational networks (to sustain and/or widen existing networks)

Travel regions and grant amounts

Currently, the selection criteria for Mobility First! prioritises cultural mobility from Asia to Europe; from Europe to Asia; and, within Asia. All travel must be international. Successful applicants will be given up to a maximum of Singapore Dollars (SGD) 2,000 for travel from Asia to Europe or Europe to Asia. Successful applicants will be given up to a maximum of Singapore Dollars (SGD) 1,000 for travel within Asia. Additional funding is available for people with disabilities and special needs.

Application and reporting processes

• Individuals should complete the online application form at: https://asefculture.formstack.com/forms/applicationform
• Organisations should complete the online application form at: https://asefculture.formstack.com/forms/applicationformorg
• All applicants must ensure that the activity/event will commence at least 10 weeks after the application is submitted.
• Successful applicants will be notified by ASEF within 4 weeks.
• For individuals receiving support, the first 50% of the funding amount will be transferred after ASEF has received the signed Terms of Reference. The remaining 50% will be transferred post-travel and after ASEF receives the required post-event report.
• In the case of organisations, ASEF will sign a Partnership Agreement with the selected organisation. The terms of funding will be agreed upon with the partner organisation and will be specified in the Partnership Agreement.
• All individuals receiving mobility support are expected to complete an online post-event report no later than 4 weeks after travel has ended. The format of the online report can be found here: https://asefculture.formstack.com/forms/report

  For additional information, please visit http://www.asef.org/index.php/projects/themes/culture/4176-mobility-first! Contact: Ms Fatima AVILA Project Executive, Culture Department Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Email: fatima.avila@asef.org