The British Council invites responses to two open calls for artists and cultural practitioners based either in Bangladesh or in the United Kingdom, and arts organisations based in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi and Sylhet that are working at the intersection of art, culture, gender and contemporary society to provide proposals to participate in WOW 鈥� Women of the World.
Deadline for the submitting the application is 16 November 16, said a press release on Sunday.
Information regarding both the open calls is available on the British Council Bangladesh website. An information webinar for interested applicants will be held online for registered attendees at 5.30pm on November 6.
WOW 鈥� Women of the World is a global movement that believes a gender equal world is desirable, possible and urgently required.
WOW Festivals were initiated in Bangladesh through divisional chapters from 2017, leading to a national festival in Dhaka in 2019.
This year, artists, cultural practitioners and arts organisations are invited to participate in WOW Bangladesh 2025-2026 by providing proposals that engage with gender through artistic or cultural work that connects with one or more of the following themes: film, moving image and media aesthetics; hyperobject meets hyperobject: gender and the climate emergency; and STE(A)M: science, technology, (arts), engineering and maths.
For the first open call, 鈥榃OW Bangladesh Commissions 2025鈥�, grants of up to 拢12,000 in equivalent Bangladeshi taka is available to support artists and cultural practitioners to develop, produce, and present works of art, exhibitions, performances or screening programmes in Bangladesh in 2026.聽
Meanwhile, the second open call, 鈥榃OW Bangladesh Chapters 2026鈥�, will support arts organisations based in Chattogram, Dhaka, Rajshahi and Sylhet to host, curate, produce and present a day-long WOW Bangladesh Chapter event between January 1and August 30, 2026. In this category, grants of up to 拢23,000 in equivalent Bangladeshi Taka are available.
To register for the webinar, read the full eligibility criteria and application guidelines, and to apply, visit https://www.britishcouncil.org.bd/en/programmes/arts.
