Connections Through Culture Grants 2025, image

The Connections Through Culture grants programme nurtures fresh cultural partnerships between the UK and select countries in Asia Pacific and Europe, including Türkiye. These grants support new ideas and collaborations from artists and cultural organisations at any stage of development.

The grants supported in this round of the Connections Through Culture programme focus on two areas: diversity and inclusion as well as addressing climate change. The collaborations across borders and artistic disciplines will lead to new ideas to address these global challenges.

The grants support new connections, exchanges, and collaborations between artists, cultural professionals, creative practitioners and art and cultural organisations.

2025 Grant recipients: Türkiye

People gathered outdoors playing an educational game with colorful illustrated cards spread on the grass.

Butterfly: Transforming Art into Eco-Voices

UK: University of Plymouth

Türkiye: Toyed - Teknoloji Oyunlaştırma ve Eğitim Derneği

Butterfly uniquely combines ecological learning with creativity and technology to deepen emotional engagement with the climate crisis. By connecting local knowledge with global collaboration, the project builds an inclusive, imaginative pathway toward environmental and social change via augmented reality (AR) and GAME

Ziyaretçiler taş duvarlı aydınlık bir sergi alanında çağdaş sanat enstalasyonlarını inceliyor.

Ceramic in Public Space (for the 10th Çanakkale Biennial)

UK: Kay Alpin

Türkiye: Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABININ)

Çanakkale, with its rich ceramic heritage, seeks to expand this field through diverse artistic practices and public visibility. Inspired by local nature and layered history, Britis artist Kay Aplin will create a permanent site-specific public installation. Developed with local artists, studios, industry, and institutions, the project fosters exchange, shared learning, and international collaboration in contemporary ceramics. 

People sitting outside at night near a building illuminated with red neon light installations.

Motorhane Soundscape

UK: Suk-Jun Kim

Türkiye: Motorhane Kültür Ağı

This community-led sound installation project brings together local artists and residents through a collaborative creative process. The project will explore the acoustic landscape of the neighbourhood surrounding the unique space that is Motorhane. Through immersive fieldwork, artists will record the ambient sounds of the urban environment as well as the stories and voices of residents serving as both an artistic and archival contribution to the site.

A camera on a tripod recording a woman speaking during an indoor interview or video shoot.

Re: Use - Navigating the Archive Commons for EkoFilmmaking

UK: Ffilm School

Türkiye: EkoFilm: Sustainable Production Platform

This creative and environmental initiative promotes low-carbon filmmaking by reusing and reinterpreting archival footage. By prioritising existing resources over new, resource-heavy shoots, it offers an innovative approach to storytelling. This collaboration turns a creative initiative into a capacity-building process promoting a shared, ethical, and non-extractive filmmaking culture. 

A group of young women standing near a banner for the “Flying Broom” film festival.

Reclaim the Frame X Ankara

UK: Reclaim the Frame

Türkiye: Flying Broom Foundation

This project will unfold across several interconnected activities bringing together the shared expertise, mission, and passion for championing women’s perspectives in cinema of both partners. From presenting features at festivals, to producing a professional training day and even screening female-led productions, this project’s activities will further strengthen cross-cultural dialogue and the visibility of women filmmakers on both sides. 

A group of participants engaged in a workshop discussion around a table in a bright room.

SCREENBRIDGE: UK – Türkiye Screen Story Exchange

UK: Screen Yorkshire

Türkiye: m2 Film Lab

This is new hybrid development initiative launching in late autumn 2025, supports nine emerging Turkish filmmakers developing fiction features under mentorship from a UK screenwriting expert. The month-long program includes a 5-day Istanbul workshop, followed by three online seminars on producing with the UK, festival and distribution strategies, and a UK-Türkiye co-production case study. 

A group of people exploring historical ruins surrounded by nature on a sunny day.

Sounding Art Trail

UK: North Downs Way Trail

Türkiye: Culture Routes Society

This site-specific art project explores land art, cultural heritage, and ecology through immersive soundscapes and participatory workshops which address climate change, rural depopulation, and social fragmentation. It invites two sound artists and local communities to co-create in open-air settings, transforming landscapes into spaces for sensory engagement. Original soundscapes will be accessible via QR codes along the trails. 

Three women in matching red football uniforms chatting and relaxing in a casual indoor setting.

The Game We Made

UK: Noorafshan Mirza

Türkiye: Kiraz Öcal

This collaborative short film and arts project explores the unseen labour, joy, and community at the heart of women’s football. It centres the voices of girls and women from across the football ecosystem highlighting the stories often left out of the spotlight. Led by Kiraz Öcal, a psychologist and social entrepreneur from Kızlar Sahada, the project bridges art, sport, and social change in partnership with UK artist and educator, Noorafshan Mirza. 

DJs performing in a dark venue with colorful stage lights and vibrant energy.

The in Between and Disco Neurotico

UK: Byron Vincent

Türkiye: Damla Durman

A screening will be hosted in Istanbul of The In Between, an arthouse documentary exploring neurodivergence followed by an audience Q&A and an immersive Disco Neurotico event which is a vibrant, access-first club night designed by and for neurodivergent people. This is more than a one-off event — it’s the beginning of a cultural dialogue between neurodivergent communities across borders.

Two men participating in a public art activity, one writing on a large chalkboard while another films.

We Gather Here Because We Must: Reclaiming Public Space as a ground for Climate Imagination

UK: Get it Done

Türkiye: Ankara Aks

This is an international artist exchange, exploring how public space can be reclaimed as a shared ground for climate imagination. Four emerging artists from the UK and Türkiye will collaborate through online workshops, cross-city research, and a residency in Ankara, co-creating a temporary intervention in public space. The process will be documented in a zine and digital publication to share creative methods and insights.