Cultural Bridge celebrates its reach and impact since 2021 and reflects on the 2024-25 partnerships with the launch of a new film and evaluation report.
“The Cultural Bridge programme has been a great way to showcase our project on an international stage, fostering cross-cultural connections and creative exchange. It has allowed us to collaborate with global partners, promote sustainability, and highlight the power of art to unite diverse communities. This exposure has strengthened our future work, ensuring a continued focus on inclusivity, sustainability, and artistic collaboration.” Round 3 Partner Feedback
Cultural Bridge supports arts and cultural organisations across the UK and Germany to develop partnerships that explore social arts practice.
Through co-investment from Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, the Goethe-Institut London, and Wales Arts International / Arts Council of Wales, Cultural Bridge has so far supported 49 partnerships through 62 awards across four funding rounds since its pilot year in 2021.
Today we’re celebrating the reach and impact of the programme to date, with a particular focus on the 2024-25 partnerships, as we launch the evaluation report produced by tialt (there is an alternative) and delve into some of the partnerships through our brand-new film.
“We’ve gained new skills in facilitating dialogue and creative processes across different generations and cultures, which has enhanced our ability to adapt to varied perspectives.” Round 3 Partner Feedback
Written by tialt (there is an alternative), who have delivered the evaluation for the programme since its launch in 2021, the report provides a thorough overview of the 2024-25 (round 3) programme, including key statistics, detailed insights and outcomes, recommendations for the future and deep dives into four of the partnerships.
Round 3, which funded partnership activity from April 2024 to March 2025, supported 20 partnerships across the two funding tiers. 14 new partnerships received Tier One funding of up to £10,000 and 6 established partnerships received Tier Two funding of up to £30,000. Overall, the 2024-25 programme enabled 310 artists, 165 cultural professionals, 1,475 participants and over 28,000 audience members to experience activities and outcomes as part of the funded partnerships.
The evaluation report details several core outcomes reported by the partnerships. These are:
- Deeper understanding of the mutual social and cultural contexts of the UK and Germany
- Learning practical new approaches to applied socially engaged arts practice
- An enhanced ability to achieve impact with communities because of learnings gained from partners
- A launchpad for new collaborations and long-term partnerships
- Understanding what ‘community’ means and learning from diverse communities
- Unexpected outcomes and adapting to challenges
- Sustainability and environmental impact
“We learned that building trust and shared authorship requires time, care, and deep listening. Working across different lived experiences, particularly in post-conflict settings, requires sensitivity and sustained engagement, but yields transformative results.” Round 3 Partner Feedback
The funding network is currently in its fourth funding round, supporting 20 partnerships including work exploring youth leadership, digital storytelling and emerging technologies, disability-led dance and movement, the intersection of LGBTQI+, neurodivergence and disability, West-African craft and puppetry, circus arts, diaspora communities, music, age inclusion, environmental and climate issues, industrial heritage and more. Find out more.
Applications for the fifth round of funding, supporting activities from April 2026 to March 2027, will open in October 2025. Guidance is available now, and potential new partnerships are encouraged to complete a New Partner form. Find out more.
Read previous evaluation reports at the links below.
2021-22 pilot year evaluation (Round One)
2023-24 evaluation (Round Two)
Find out more about the 2024-25 partnerships featured in the film and the evaluation deep dives:
Bridging Rural Communities - People, Process, Places:
A Tier One partnership between Dyffryn Dyfodol CIC (Llanrwst, Wales) and Syndikat Gefährliche Liebschaften (Quakenbrück, Germany)
Uncomfortable Dialogues - Unveiling Marginalized Black Experiences through Dance, Film, and Storytelling:
A Tier One partnership between MINCE e.V. (Berlin, Germany) and Miss Lulu Creates LTD (London, England)
The Shake:
A Tier Two partnership between The MAC (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and coculture e.V. (Berlin, Germany)
An Audio Hunt in Easterhouse:
A Tier Two partnership between Produced Moon (Glasgow, Scotland) and Storydive (Hamburg, Germany)
ENTER: Robots exchange:
A Tier Two partnership between Hijinx Theatre (Cardiff, Wales) and tanzbar-bremen e.V. (Bremen, Germany)
Feminism and Migrant activism:
A Tier One partnership between Stellar Quines Ltd (Fife, Scotland) and MPower (Berlin, Germany)
Chemnitz & Manchester Residency
A Tier One partnership between Quarantine (Manchester, England) and ASA-FF e.V./ Freundinnen- und Förderkreis Arbeits- und Studienaufenthalte in Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika (Chemnitz, Germany)