STEP Beyond Travel Grant funds emerging artists and cultural workers to explore and to exchange views, skills and inspiration.
STEP Beyond Travel grants fund up-and-coming artists and cultural workers - giving priority to individuals up to 35 years and/or in the first 10 years of their career - to travel between EU and countries bordering the EU.
Since 2003, STEP - which stands for ‘Supporting Travel for European Partnerships’ - Beyond Travel Grants have supported the movement of hundreds of people across European borders. In 2011, we awarded 261 individual travel grants of between €250 and €700.
By applying for the STEP Beyond Travel Grant, you are automatically joining ECF Labs: our online community of individuals in the field of arts and culture from Europe and beyond. Being part of this community enables you to share information about your projects and activities by posting blogs and photographs.
Upon the submission of your application, an online project profile will be created automatically and this will be made publicly available on this Grants Lab. Your project profile will remain publicly available, allowing you to post blog updates. You are able to delete your profile at any time by simply sending us a request at stepbeyond@culturalfoundation.eu
Applicants who are successful will also be able to submit their reports and invoices through their project profile on the Grants Lab.
ECF Grants
European Cultural Foundation (ECF) is an independent foundation based in the Netherlands that has been operating across Europe for nearly 60 years. We initiate and support cultural exchange and creative expression across wider Europe.
Over the last five years, ECF has supported over 1000 projects across 59 countries through its grants programme.
We support all kinds of artistic and cultural expression: music, visual arts, theatre, dance, film, documentary, multimedia, photography, design, fashion and cultural-capacity building.
In addition to the STEP Beyond Travel Grants, ECF also awards Collaboration Grants and Balkan Incentive Fund for Culture (BIFC) Grants. Read more about these two schemes on the ECF website at www.culturalfoundation.eu/grants.
Connecting with ECF
Our grants programme supports projects that connect with our three guiding principles:
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empowering people through art and culture
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connecting sources of knowledge
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linking cultural policy and practice
We are particularly interested in projects that contect to ECF’s two central programmes: European Neighbourhood and Youth & Media.
How to Apply
STEP Beyond Travel grants fund up and coming artists and cultural workers - giving priority to individuals up to 35 years and/or in the first 10 years of their career - to travel between EU and countries bordering the EU.
There is no deadline for this grant scheme, so you can apply at any time but at least one month before your planned travel. The selection process takes up to one month.
Please note that in case of successful applications, all grants are only paid after the travel has ended and the grantee has submitted all required travel documents. Therefore, careful budgeting beforehand is essential for each project.
For more information on how to apply, a list of eligible travel destinations and to access the application form, go to the How to apply guidelines. After this you can start the application process directly here. Please carry in mind that the applications cannot be edited after submission.
NB! Please note that starting 1 September 2015, the application deadline will be 60 days prior departure, which affects travels starting in October as well. If you are travelling in October, please make sure to submit your application at the latest in August.
Where We Fund
We support artists and cultural workers based in one of the following countries:
Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM), Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, The Netherlands, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
We especially welcome applications from the following countries:
Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.
For eligible travel directions please see the How to apply guidelines.
Other Funding
Next to the STEP Beyond Travel Grants, ECF has also other funding opportunities. Find out more here www.culturalfoundation.eu/grants
Not eligible for any of our grants?
The ECF Labs community may offer other opportunities and support for you. Share your work and ideas with other artists and cultural workers on ECF Labs!
Promote us
If you would like to promote our STEP Beyond Travel grant, download banners for your website or your blog here.