Memory on Stage 2027
Public Call for Proposals for Artistic Projects
- Programme: Memory on Stage - Beirut Spring Festival 2027
- Theme: Lebanon's fragmented histories, collective memory and cultural heritage.
- Artistic forms:
Theatre, music, dance, performance, film, visual or performative installation, multimedia, digital and interdisciplinary work, and other contemporary artistic formats.
- Who can apply: Artists, cultural practitioners, collectives and cultural organisations with an established professional practice in Lebanon.
- Maximum support: Up to EUR 30,000.
- Deadline: 30 November 2026, 11:59 PM Beirut time.
- Submission Portal: <insert the submission portal URL>
- Presentation: As part of the 2027 edition of the Beirut Spring Festival.
- Funding: European Union-funded Tech for Memory project.
About the call
The Samir Kassir Foundation invites artists, cultural practitioners, collectives and cultural organisations working in Lebanon to submit proposals for original artistic projects to be presented as part of the 2027 edition of the Foundation’s Beirut Spring Festival.
Memory on Stage is an artistic creation programme developed within the European Union-funded Tech for Memory project. It supports contemporary artistic approaches that contribute to preserving, questioning, interpreting and transmitting Lebanon's cultural heritage and fragmented memory.
Projects may take the form of theatre, music, dance, performance, film, visual or performative installation, multimedia, digital or interdisciplinary work, or another contemporary artistic format. Applicants are encouraged to interpret the idea of "stage" expansively and to propose forms suited to the artistic concept and the audiences they seek to engage.
The Beirut Spring Festival is a free-of-charge annual arts and culture programme that celebrates freedom and renewal in Beirut, in memory of Samir Kassir. ✨
What we are looking for
Projects may engage with, among other areas:
- individual and collective memory;
- fragmented, contested, silenced or overlooked histories;
- archives, oral histories and archival absence;
- war, conflict, displacement and migration;
- urban, social and cultural transformations;
- intergenerational memory and transmission;
- material and intangible cultural heritage;
- identity, belonging and community memory;
- the role of technology in preserving, interpreting or reactivating memory.
Memory on Stage is interested in how artistic practice can examine the ways Lebanon remembers, forgets, preserves, contests and reconstructs its past. Proposals should demonstrate a clear artistic vision and a meaningful relationship between form, content and questions of memory.
The programme does not prescribe a single historical narrative or artistic form. Applicants are encouraged to approach their subject critically, responsibly, and imaginatively.
Projects selected in previous editions in
2025 and
2026 have ranged from a theatre performance to a documentary film and photography to animation, installation, live music, poetry, spoken word and dance. Applicants are encouraged to interpret the notion of performance expansively.
Who can apply
The call is open to:
- individual artists and cultural practitioners;
- informal artistic collectives with an identified lead applicant capable of entering into a contractual agreement;
- legally registered cultural or artistic organisations;
- interdisciplinary teams and collaborations.
Applicants must demonstrate an established professional artistic or cultural practice in Lebanon and relevant experience appropriate to the scale and nature of the proposed project. Eligibility is based primarily on professional practice in Lebanon rather than nationality.
Where an application is submitted by a collective or organisation, a lead representative must be identified for administrative and contractual purposes.
The contract can only be signed with registered non-profit organizations. Any individual artist or informal collective must select a host organization with which the contracts will be signed.
Eligible projects
Proposed projects must:
- be intended for artistic creation, development, production and public presentation;
- engage substantially with the objectives and themes of Memory on Stage;
- be feasible within the proposed timeframe and budget;
- be suitable for presentation within the Beirut Spring Festival context;
- respect applicable legal, ethical, copyright, consent and safeguarding requirements.
Projects may be entirely new works or substantial new developments or adaptations of works already in progress, provided that the application clearly identifies the new creation or development supported through Memory on Stage.
Ineligible applications and activities
Applications may be deemed ineligible or inadmissible where they:
- are submitted after the deadline;
- are incomplete or do not use the required application and budget formats;
- are submitted by applicants who do not meet the eligibility conditions;
- do not demonstrate a meaningful connection to the objectives of Memory on Stage;
- request funding above the maximum permitted amount;
- relate primarily to activities completed before the eligible project period;
- consist principally of commercial activity without a clear artistic or cultural purpose;
- cannot demonstrate the rights, permissions, consent or legal capacity necessary to deliver the proposed work.
Funding
A total funding envelope of EUR 30,000 is available under this call. The Samir Kassir Foundation may select one or more projects within this envelope. Applicants may request up to EUR 30,000, or a lower amount where appropriate, and should submit budgets proportionate to the artistic scope and actual production needs of the proposed project.
The final amount awarded may be lower than the amount requested and will be determined through the selection, clarification and contracting process. Selection does not constitute an entitlement to the full amount requested.
Applicants must provide a detailed project budget through the online application form. All costs must be necessary, reasonable, clearly described and directly related to project delivery.
Budget principles
Eligible cost categories may include, where relevant:
- artist and creative team fees;
- research and development;
- production and technical personnel;
- set, scenography, costumes, props and artistic materials;
- equipment rental and specialist technical services;
- audiovisual, digital and post-production costs;
- rehearsal and production costs;
- local transport and project-related travel, where justified;
- communications, accessibility and audience-engagement costs directly linked to the project;
- reasonable project administration and other necessary delivery costs, subject to the final grant conditions.
Costs incurred before the eligible project start date, unjustified capital purchases, recoverable taxes, fines, debts, losses, and costs unrelated to the approved project will not be eligible unless expressly permitted in the final grant agreement.
Project period and presentation
Selected projects will be developed and produced during the 2027 project period and presented as part of the Beirut Spring Festival 2027. The exact production calendar, milestones, technical schedule and presentation dates will be agreed with the selected applicant during contracting.
Applicants should submit a realistic work plan showing the stages required to research, create, rehearse, produce, install and present the proposed work.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted through the official Memory on Stage 2027 online application form <insert the submission portal URL>. Applications sent by email or through file-transfer services will not be considered unless the Samir Kassir Foundation specifically announces an alternative submission procedure because of a technical problem affecting the application platform.
The application form will request information on the applicant, artistic concept, relationship to memory, research and source material, production approach, team, work plan, technical requirements, audience, expected impact and budget.
Applicants must also submit the supporting material specified in the form. Large audiovisual files should be provided through stable viewing links rather than uploaded directly wherever possible.
Deadline
The submission deadline is 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM, Beirut time.
The online form will close automatically at the deadline. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the final minutes to submit. A submission is complete only when the applicant receives the automatic confirmation and application reference number.
Application language
Applications may be submitted in Arabic, English, or French. The language of submission will not affect the evaluation of the proposal.
Evaluation criteria
| Criterion | Weight | What assessors will consider |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance to Memory on Stage | 25% | Depth and clarity of engagement with memory, cultural heritage and the programme objectives; strength of the relationship between theme and artistic approach. |
| Artistic quality and originality | 25% | Clarity and strength of artistic vision; originality; coherence of form and content; quality of the proposed approach and relevant previous work. |
| Feasibility and work plan | 15% | Realism of the production plan, timeline, team, technical requirements and ability to deliver the proposed work within the Festival context. |
| Expected impact and audience relevance | 15% | Potential cultural and artistic value; relevance to intended audiences; capacity to generate reflection, engagement or meaningful access to memory and heritage. |
| Operational and financial capacity | 10% | Appropriateness of the team and applicant capacity to manage production, administration, reporting and funds responsibly. |
| Value for money | 10% | Reasonableness and coherence of costs in relation to the proposed artistic scope, outputs and expected results. |
Selection process
- Stage 1. Administrative and admissibility check - confirmation that the submission is complete and was received on time.
- Stage 2. Eligibility review - confirmation that the applicant and proposed project meet the conditions of the call.
- Stage 3. Artistic assessment - eligible proposals are scored against the published evaluation criteria by designated assessors.
- Stage 4. Clarification and, where useful, interview - shortlisted applicants may be asked to clarify artistic, technical, operational or financial aspects of the proposal.
- Stage 5. Due diligence - the Foundation may request legal, financial, rights, safeguarding or other documentation needed before an award is confirmed.
- Stage 6. Final decision and contracting - funding is confirmed only after successful completion of the required checks and signature of the contractual agreement.
A proposal must achieve the minimum quality threshold established by the selection committee to be considered for funding. The Samir Kassir Foundation reserves the right not to award funding if no application reaches the required standard, and to request reasonable adjustments to a selected proposal before contracting.
Conflict of interest and fairness
All assessors and decision-makers involved in the selection process will be required to disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from the assessment of applications where a conflict exists.
Applications will be assessed only against the published criteria and the information submitted through the official application process
Ethical practice, consent and rights
Projects involving personal testimony, archival material, identifiable individuals, private records, vulnerable participants or sensitive historical material must demonstrate appropriate consent, permissions, attribution, ethical handling and consideration of participant dignity and safety.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they hold, or can obtain, the rights and authorisations necessary to create and publicly present the proposed work. Detailed intellectual-property, recording, documentation and communication provisions will be included in the grant agreement.
Accessibility
Applicants are encouraged to consider accessibility from the design stage. Relevant measures may include subtitling, captioning, language access, physical accessibility, accessible digital content, interpretation or other approaches appropriate to the work and its audiences. Reasonable accessibility costs directly related to the project may be included in the budget, subject to the final grant conditions.
EU visibility and compliance
Memory on Stage is supported through the European Union-funded Tech for Memory project. Selected applicants will be required to comply with the applicable project visibility, communication, financial management and reporting requirements communicated by the Samir Kassir Foundation and incorporated into the grant agreement.
Data protection
Personal data submitted through the application process will be processed for the purposes of administering, evaluating, selecting, contracting, monitoring and reporting on Memory on Stage 2027. Application data may be accessed, where necessary, by authorised Samir Kassir Foundation staff, designated evaluators, project auditors and contracted service providers subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection obligations.
Applicants are invited to explore the
privacy notice explaining the categories of data collected, purposes of processing, access, retention, storage, applicable rights and contact information.
Notification and contracting
All applicants will be informed of the outcome of the selection process. A selection decision is provisional until the required due-diligence checks are completed and the contractual agreement is signed. The agreement will define the approved scope, budget, milestones, payment schedule, reporting obligations, visibility requirements, rights and responsibilities of the parties.
Indicative timeline
