The Connections Through Culture grants programme is designed to nurture fresh cultural partnerships between East Asia and the UK. These grants are instrumental in supporting new ideas and collaborations from artists and cultural organisations at any stage of development.

The grants supported in this round of Connections Through Culture programme have focused on two distinct areas: diversity and inclusion and, addressing climate change. The collaborative efforts across borders and artistic disciplines will lead to new thoughts and ideas created to address global challenges.

The grants support new connections, exchanges and collaborations. These grants help build long-term relationships and collaborations between artists, cultural professionals, creative practitioners and art and cultural organisations, hubs, networks, and collectives.

Connections Through Culture grantees 2023

SOE Jakarta

Fashion Designer, SOE Jakarta

SOE Jakarta is born out of a love affair with hand woven textiles and an ode to classic timeless style. Monique Soeriaatmadja’s debut collection used materials developed after hours of discussion with weavers from across Indonesia, who create beautiful fabrics on traditional looms.

Victorious Elvino Priyanto Sadipun a.k.a 'Ndaru'

Creative Technologist

Ndaru is a programmer, independent researcher, coder, and many other hats. He seeks challenging occupation where he can effectively contribute his skills also experienced in the technical and management field for the development of both the company and himself. 

 

Bombo | Reza Enem

Sound Artist, Bombo

Reza Enem, was born in Makassar, South Sulawesi in 1988. Reza has had played music with his indie progressive folk band Theory of Discoustic after completing his study at Universitas Fajar, Makassar in 2010. In 2012, he worked as a photojournalist and photo editor for Jakarta Biz Daily. Reza participated art residency at Mite-Ugro, Gwangju, South Korea (2015), The 5th  Anniversary of ART NOVA 100, Beijing (2015) and Jakarta Biennale (2015) as participating new emerging artist.

Veronica Colondam, one of the judges for the Education UK Alumni Awards 2016 in Indonesia

Veronica Colondam

Founder and CEO, Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB)

Ms.Veronica Colondam is the Founder and CEO of YCAB Foundation. Since 1999, YCAB Foundation has evolved into a social enterprise that focuses on youth empowerment.

She received her Master in Social Science from the Imperial College, London and the London of Hygiene and Tropical Disease.  She also authored several books on youth development and behaviour. In 2014, Forbes named her as 48 Asian Philanthropist and one of Ten Most Inspiring Women in Indonesia.

Win Nandar Thet

Myanmar
University of Warwick
As a researcher in sustainable development, Win Nandar Thet is keen to inspire future generations. While studying at the University of Warwick, she aims to network with like-minded individuals to further her professional development in the field of Humanitarian Engineering with Sustainability.

 

Maria Andrea Kristina Onglao

The Philippines
Imperial College London
Maria Andrea Kristina is driven by a lifelong passion for mathematics and environmental sustainability. As part of the MSc EDSML program at Imperial College London, she will be working on real-world problem-solving in STEM.

 

Rais Rice and Reza Enem

Visual Artist and Sound Artist, Bombo

Bombo is a collaborative project from Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Visual developer Rais Rice began his exploration in multimedia production by practicing photography and graphic design while studying information studies at Universitas Telkom, Bandung. Later, he expanded his skill to film, visual installation, and video mapping production.  

Sound artist Reza Enem played music with his indie progressive folk band Theory of Discoustic after completing his study at Universitas Fajar, Makassa and previously worked as a photojournalist for Jakarta Biz Daily.

Nafisah Mohd Rafiq

Singapore
Imperial College London
Nafisah Mohd Rafiq, a research engineer specializing in aerospace materials, will be pursuing the MSc Energy Policy program at Imperial College London. She aims to integrate scientific methodologies with policy frameworks to address engineering challenges effectively, thereby enhancing her contributions to her home country's community.

Punnapa Yoswaris

Thailand
Imperial College London
Punnapa Yoswaris aims to address climate change through interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with the Grantham Institute. She seeks to advance her career in sustainable consulting services by integrating climate science with business principles.

Ha Phuong Thao Nguyen

Vietnam
University of Warwick
Ha Phuong Thao Nguyen is working on developing skills to support her ambition to become an impact entrepreneur. She has engineering skills and wants to learn business management in this area before establishing a startup.