Creative Caribbean Project awards 25 groups

TWENTY-FIVE organisations in the region have been awarded in the first round of small grants, as part of the EU sponsored project ‘Creative Caribbean – An Ecosystem of ‘Play’ for Growth and Development’.

The project is aimed at improving the economic conditions of creatives to stimulate sustainable growth of the Creative and Cultural Industries in the Caribbean.

A total of US$1 million has been awarded for the implementation of 25 projects across the Caribbean, thanks to the generous contribution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states and the European Union.

A release noted the full list of awardees which were announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, CARICOM Secretariat and The University of the West Indies.

The awarded projects and locations are:

1. Kingston Creative – Kingston Creative Accelerator – Jamaica

2. Nevis Historical & Conservation Society – Power to the People: Strengthening Nevis heritage frameworks and accessibility – St Kitts and Nevis

3. Naparima Bowl – Upgrading the database and website for the national registry of artists and cultural workers – Trinidad, and Tobago

4. The Dominican Republic Film Commission – Preservation of the Dominican Film Memory – The Dominican Republic

5. Pinelands Creative Workshop – Cultural heritage identification and preservation project

6. Kross Kolor Records – Music production and audio engineering incubator – Guyana

7. Secondary Schools’ Drama Association – Facilitators and educators training in education – Trinidad and Tobago

8. Alpha Institute – Practice Makes Professional: A professional music space for practice and instruction – Jamaica

9. DianJen – The Online School of Music Industry Studies – multiple countries

10. Dominant Seventh Productions – Rellon Brown and the Dominant Seventh Calypso Jazz Band at Recontre Autour du Piano 2023

11. Kaz Kweyol Productions Limited – Dominica’s Artist in Residence Programme: Promoting the sustainable development of the traditional masquerade corms in Dominica and the region – Dominica

12. Fundación Absoluto Teatro, Inc, M. Elizabeth Ovalle – Festival Internacional de Teatro Mujeres sobre las Tablas – The Dominican Republic

13. Les Laboratoires de Port-au-Prince - PAPLAB – Caribbean dance platform – Haiti

14. The Bocas Literary Festival – Caribbean writer and industry development programme – Trinidad and Tobago

15. Antigua & Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra (ABYSO) – The ABYSO Kanneh-Mason Playing to Inspire Festival of Music – Antigua and Barbuda

16. Belize Music Agency – Belize’s Festival Tourism Pilot Project – Belize

17. Plie for the Arts – Towards building a viable Caribbean Creative Marketplace – Jamaica

18. Agency for Innercity Renewal – Trench Town Cultural Hub – Jamaica

19. Animae Caribe Festival – Animae Caribe Pitch Deck Finishing Accelerator – Trinidad and Tobago

20 Koru Green – Music Making Money: Koru Green Artist Management Software Development Project – multiple countries

21. Beyond Publishing – Loose Change – A comic-book series set in a prestigious business school that seeks to promote financial literacy in children and adults alike – multiple countries

22. Baughaus Designs – BAUGHaus product development & market expansion – Jamaica

23. Reve Jewelry – Caribbean premier jewellery internship programme – Jamaica

24. Lake Health and Wellbeing – My Healthy Heroes – Saint Kitts and Nevis

25. The University of Trinidad and Tobago – WeCapture’s audiovisual content production and an online platform as a data outlet for networking, marketing, promotion, and distribution, Trinidad and Tobago

The second round of grant calls is now open, and creatives are invited to apply from three categories: industry grants, enabling environment grants, and training grants at this website: Creative Caribbean Second Round Grant Calls | OPENED! (unesco.org).

The 15 Caribbean countries eligible for this grant scheme are: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, The Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

The Creative Caribbean project is being implemented over 40 months and is expected to end in 2024.