CATAPULT II - Kingston Creative

CATAPULT | A CARIBBEAN ARTS GRANT

CATAPULT is a programme designed to provide emergency COVID-19 relief grants to Caribbean creatives whose livelihoods were negatively impacted by the pandemic. This pan-Caribbean
grant was a partnership between the American Friends of Jamaica, Kingston Creative, and Fresh Milk which launched in August 2020.

Since its inception in 2020, CATAPULT had the following objectives:
• Provide financial support to artists, creatives and cultural practitioners
• Share content created by Caribbean creatives with the rest of the world to increase visibility
• Encourage creatives to adopt the new technologies and online methods through training, having them post their content online, and providing them with websites, online stores, and social media accounts.
• Strengthen the artistic practices of artists by providing a stipend for them to create art.
• Build a network that crosses linguistic divides and encourages artistic collaboration between countries.

In our first year (2020), CATAPULT supported 1235 creatives in 26 countries in the Caribbean with a suite of programmes designed to provide financial support, increase visibility, and develop creative skills.

In our second year (2022), CATAPULT provided 300 Caribbean creatives with grants worth $500 USD and give them opportunity to be showcased in the Caribbean Creative Network; an open directory that the public can access to find, hire and easily partner with creatives for international and local projects.

CATAPULT targets participants living and working across the Dutch, English, French, and Spanish regions.

CATAPULT is particularly interested in working with practitioners who explore the broad critical themes of Culture, Human Rights, Gender, LGBTQIA+, and Climate Justice from Caribbean perspectives.

CATAPULT aims to increase the capacity of Caribbean-based artists to navigate the digital space and learn new ways of connecting with diverse global audiences. It also promotes the visibility of cultural practitioners by expanding online content from the region, enabling artists to engage with wider audiences, while contributing to the potential of earning beyond their borders.

IMPACT

AWARDEES

USD IN FUNDING

COUNTRIES

American Friends of Jamaica | The AFJ has a near 40 year history of funding charitable organizations in Jamaica in the fields of Education, Healthcare and Economic Development. A registered 501 c 3 nonprofit headquartered in New York City, AFJ relies on individual and corporate contributions made by donors who believe in our work and will advocate on our behalf. Part of the AFJ’s mission is to facilitate donor directed contributions which enables donors to support registered charitable organizations aligned with their own goals for philanthropy.

Kingston Creative is a registered non-profit organization founded in February 2017. Its mission is to enable creatives to succeed so that they can create economic and social value, gain access to global markets and have a positive impact on their community.

See List of CATAPULT 2022 Awardees:

In 2022, 436 creatives applied from 23 countries across the Caribbean and each application was then closely evaluated by the jurors and narrowed down to the final 300 recipients. This was undertaken by a small, talented panel of arts practitioners; Ana Maria Hernandez (Aruba), Holly Bynoe (St. Vincent & the Grenadines), Juan Francisco Pardo (Aruba), Natalie Urquhart (Cayman Islands), Nicholas Laughlin (Trinidad & Tobago), Sara Shabaka (Jamaica) and Simone Harris (Jamaica).

In the first year, the focus was on building capacity and connection, while this year, the focus was on re-emergence and recovery. To this end, all 436 grant applicants will be added to the Caribbean Creative Network, a publicly accessible creative directory developed by Kingston Creative and IDB Lab to increase creatives’ visibility, market access and earnings. The online database will launch next month and will serve as a resource that anyone can use to find, hire and easily partner with Caribbean creatives for both international and local projects.