Aims/priorities: The funding is intended to support arts and cultural organisations across the UK and Germany to develop partnerships that explore social arts practice.
The funding is for organisations who embody cultural democracy through:
- Placing communities at the heart of their creative work.
- Exploring new ways of connecting arts and society, particularly through fostering co-creation between communities, artists, and other partners.
- Supporting people from across their communities to develop their creativity and discover their individual voices.
- Empowering their communities to work together to shape local place, shared identity, and collective agency.
Cultural Bridge aims to develop innovative participatory approaches across a range of artforms and in response to the programme place themes:
- Re-invigorating post-industrial places/communities
- Increasing cultural engagement in places with fewer opportunities
- Exploring places and communities transformed by grass-roots activism
- Redefining the use of public space.
The programme has two funding tiers:
- Tier 1 - Practice exchange and development of new partnerships - is to support the development of brand new partnerships between arts and cultural organisations in the UK and Germany.
- Tier 2 - Co-development and project delivery for established partnerships - is to support further development of partnerships, where organisations already have experience of working together.
Who can apply? To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be an organisation based in the UK or Germany.
- Be able to demonstrate expertise in social arts practice working with communities.
The programme defines an organisation 'as a group of people working towards a common goal with a governing document'. For example in the UK, the organisation could be a charity, a registered voluntary association, a limited company (non-profit) or an unincorporated group/collective.
Cultural Bridge is open to all artforms.
The 2026 - 2027 funding round will prioritise support for:
- Smaller arts and cultural organisations who do not already receive significant or sustained funding
- Organisations based or working with communities outside of major cities , eg, in rural areas or less populated urban centres
- Organisations who empower local communities through their creative work
- Organisations whose work aligns with the programme's aims and place themes
- Organisations who foster equity, diversity and inclusion through their leadership and practice
Partnerships must be bi-lateral, including at least one German partner and one UK partner, from any one of the four nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
All organisations need to have a bank account in the organisation’s name, with two signatories.
Applications are welcomed from organisations supporting individual creative practitioners as part of the proposed activity.
The Cultural Bridge programme is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive network. The activity supported, and the workforce of arts and culture organisations funded, should reflect the diversity of the UK and Germany, and as such applications are encouraged from diversity-led organisations and from those from under-represented backgrounds.
Grant amount: The total budget for the 2026-2027 programme is £370,000. It is anticipated that 20 awards will be made.
This budget will be split between the two funding tiers:
- Tier 1: New Partnerships - £5,000 to £10,000 per partnership.
- Tier 2: Established Partnerships - up to £30,000 per partnership.
The funding is for activity that starts from 1 April 2026 and is completed by 31 March 2027.
Application process: The application portal opens Wednesday 1 October 2025 and closes Wednesday12 November 2025.
The 2026-27 guidance notes are available.
Deadline: Wednesday12 November 2025.
Contact information: Email: contact@cultural-bridge.info
Website: Funding | Cultural Bridge