The British Council works around the world to support the UK’s arts and culture sectors to be better connected internationally, increasing engagement by international audiences and favourability towards UK arts and culture. Providing opportunities for purposeful international engagement by UK creative professionals is key to this, and we are pleased to be able to offer arts travel grants to mainland China. 

The grants will allow representatives of arts organisations based in Wales to travel to mainland China in 2026, to gain a better understanding of the cultural landscape and build their capability to engage with Chinese partners, make connections and lay the groundwork for future collaboration.

British Council recently published A guide to arts and culture opportunities in Mainland China. It explains some of the opportunities and challenges of working in one of the world’s most dynamic cultural sectors, offering evidence, examples and advice drawn from lived experience.

Travel Grants

Grant Amount

Grants will be offered of up to £3,000. Each organisation is only eligible to receive one grant per year and we anticipate that we will be able to offer around five grants in total.

What is the grant for?

The grant will enable a representative from an arts organisation based in Wales to visit relevant organisations or festivals in mainland China. Through this visit, participants will gain a better understanding of the cultural landscape in mainland China and make connections which will benefit their organisation in Wales.

Please note - applicants will need to make their own travel, visa and insurance arrangements. Please refer to the 'Notes for applicants’ - Budget section for examples of cost items that the grant can cover.

What is the grant not for?

The grant is for travel for scoping trips. The grant cannot be used for overhead costs, general running costs, professional fees or production costs - such as the purchase or hire of materials, equipment, venues, goods and/or services.

The British Council regularly offers funding for cultural collaboration such as the Connections Through Culture programme. This travel grant seeks to make connections which would support a future application to a collaboration fund.

Timeline

  • Open Call launched – 8 December 2025
  • Drop-in Session – 8 January 2026, 10:00-11:00 GMT
  • Submission deadline – 8 February 2026, 23:59 GMT
  • Successful applicants notified – 2 March 2026
  • Grant agreement signed – 16 March 2026

The drop-in session offers an opportunity for Wales-based applicants to meet British Council colleagues from Wales and China who will be able to answer questions from interested applicants and will also feature a representative from a Chinese arts organisation and/or alumni of a China Festival Travel Grant 2025, offering valuable insights, advice, and tips while sharing their experiences and answering questions. The session will be facilitated in Welsh and English (with simultaneous translation provided)

Register for the Drop-in Session

Eligibility 

Representatives from arts organisations based in Wales are eligible to apply. The representative does not need to be a staff member of the organisation, but the organisation will need to verify that they are in a position to represent the organisation.

We want this opportunity to be inclusive and engage individuals from different backgrounds and communities, to help promote visibility, recognition and influence of women, disabled people and other underrepresented communities in international creative collaborations. 

Representatives from arts organisations in Wales must have the ability to support future collaborative projects with Chinese partners. They do not need to be the Artistic Director but will need to demonstrate (e.g. through a letter confirming support from the Director of their organisation) that they have the authority to develop projects in future on behalf of the organisation. 

  • The travel grants aim to develop organisational and institutional links and therefore individual artists or freelancers can only apply if they are working directly with or on behalf of an arts organisation in Wales.
  • Funding bodies and for-profit companies are ineligible to apply.
  • These grants will not support academic links.
  • Applicants based (living) outside of Wales are ineligible to apply, unless temporarily living outside of Wales but retaining a home address in Wales and defined by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs as ‘resident in the UK’ for tax – see here.
  • This opportunity is open to representatives of arts and cultural organisations registered in Wales. The arts organisations in Wales must be active and work in the cultural and/or creative sector(s) within any of the following art forms:
    - Film
    - Creative technology (incl. games, immersive, mixed, augmented, and virtual reality)
    - Literature
    - Visual Arts
    - Theatre and dance (including circus)
    - Architecture, design & fashion (including craft)
    - Music
  • We also welcome proposals from organisations who work on:
    -  Cross-art form projects
    -  Projects with themes relevant to the creative economy
    -  Cross-disciplinary art projects (e.g., art + science, art + technology)

Assessment

All applicants will be evaluated by the British Council based on the following criteria and weighting:

Quality – The organisation represented is of high artistic/creative quality and has the capacity to develop international connections. 25%
Suitability – The proposed trip is relevant and will provide opportunities for the participant to increase their understanding of the Chinese cultural sector as well as develop networks with peers in mainland China.  25%
Planning – The proposed trip is well planned and resourced. 25%
Inclusivity - The application increases the visibility, recognition and influence of women, disabled and other underrepresented creative professionals from Wales. 25%

Submission Details

Each Applicant can only put forward one submission.

Please submit your application via the online application form. 

Access Support for Completing Your Application 

You can request funds for access costs that you have incurred in completing this application form. Access costs might include support workers, sign language interpreters, technical tools or mental health support. They are defined as costs that you incur due to a disability that others would not incur.  This support is available to all disabled applicants, whether they are successful or not. 

The support is available on two conditions: 

1: You fully complete all sections of the application form and upload all required supporting documents. 

2: Your application is submitted by the deadline. 

You can request this support through Application Form - Section C. Access costs for completing the application form. 

Please note that applications will not be assessed on the quality of written English.

Access Support for the Trip 

Additional support with access costs for your proposed trip is available and will be considered with your application. Please state if you require any additional access support to enable you to make the trip and specify what you require. 

Notes for Applicants

Note for Applicants are available in the download session at the bottom of the page, please read the document for full details.

Contact  

If you have further questions, please contact Arts@britishcouncil.org.cn
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