Kazakh Artists Join Global Creative Exchange Through British Council Grant Program

ALMATY – Five Kazakh artists and organizations have been selected to receive the British Council’s 2025 Connections Through Culture (CTC) grants, joining 127 global projects aimed at fostering creative collaboration between the United Kingdom and international partners.

Photo credit: Fatima Kemelova/ The Astana Times

The announcement was made on Oct. 28, underlining that selected Kazakh projects span diverse artistic disciplines from participatory installations and sound art to inclusive music, ecological storytelling, and creative economy research.

The CTC grants will support artists who tackle some of today’s most pressing challenges, including climate change and the role of creativity in community life, reported the British Council. 

Among the selected projects, Forbidden Playground: Reclaiming Public Space for Play and Collective Imagination brings together UK collective Leap Then Look and Kazakh artist Madina Zholdybek to transform unexpected public areas into participatory spaces celebrating care, imagination, and intergenerational connection.

In the project Impact Investing in Creative Industries: Case Studies from the UK and Kazakhstan, artists are developing a practical handbook for creative entrepreneurs and investors that introduces sustainable approaches to financing cultural ventures. 

The initiative also includes a multimedia project documenting the impact of flooding in northern Kazakhstan. Another partnership connects sound artists from both countries to reinterpret the acoustic memory of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, while musicians from Scotland and Kazakhstan join forces to expand accessible music-making for artists with disabilities.

Head of Arts and Creative Economy in Central Asia at the British Council Gala Koretskaya emphasized that projects tell a shared story of artists based on common ground and experiments.

“These collaborations remind us that the arts thrive on mutual exchange and that people, connecting across cultures, create work that resonates far beyond their own communities,” she said. 

British Council Director of Arts Ruth Mackenzie underlined the uniqueness of the grant program, highlighting the diversity goals it brings to the audience. 

“Different traditions, ideas, and artistic practices converge to create something new. With its expansion, the program connects even more voices and communities, strengthening the role of arts in fostering peace, trust, and prosperity across borders,” he said. 

Globally, the British Council will provide more than 1.1 million pounds (approximately US$1.4 million) in funding through the 2025 cycle, empowering artists and organizations to take creative risks and produce work that transcends national boundaries.

The CTC program has long been a cornerstone of the British Council’s mission to foster artistic exchange across Asia-Pacific and Europe. With its recent expansion into Central Asia, it now connects artists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan with creative peers in the UK and beyond.

By supporting such initiatives, the British Council aims to nurture sustainable artistic ecosystems that promote innovation, inclusion, and cross-cultural understanding.