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 - Plymouth, England

Türkiye: Toyed - Teknoloji Oyunlaştırma ve Eğitim Derneği - Uşak

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 - Brighton, England

Türkiye: Çanakkale Biennial Initiative (CABININ) - Çanakkale

Çanakkale, with its rich ceramic heritage, seeks to expand it through diverse artistic practices and public visibility. Inspired by local nature and layered history, British artist Kay Aplin will create a permanent public installation. Developed with local artists, studios, industry, & institutions, the project fosters exchange, shared learning, & 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 - Newtonhill, Scotland

Türkiye: Motorhane Kültür Ağı - Amasya

This community-led sound installation project brings together local artists & residents through a collaborative creative process. The project will explore the acoustic landscape of the neighbourhood surrounding the Motorhane space. Through immersive fieldwork, artists will record the ambient sounds of the urban environment, the stories and voices of residents 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 - Newcastle, England

Türkiye: EkoFilm: Sustainable Production Platform - Ankara

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 - London, England

Türkiye: Flying Broom Foundation - Ankara

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

Türkiye: m2 Film Lab - Istanbul

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 - Kent, England

Türkiye: Culture Routes Society - Antalya

This site-specific project explores land art, cultural heritage & ecology through immersive soundscapes & participatory workshops which address climate change, rural depopulation & social fragmentation. It invites 2 sound artists & 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 - London

Türkiye: Kiraz Öcal - Istanbul

This short film & 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 - Morecambe, Lancaster, England

Türkiye: Damla Durman - İstanbul

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 - Manchester, England

Türkiye: Ankara Aks - Ankara

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.