Organizer Information
Black Spatial Relics is a convening space dedicated to the support and development of Black radical performance, community care, collective research, and transformative gathering. Founded in 2016, the organization has consistently championed new performance work addressing themes of slavery, justice and freedom by providing residencies, micro-grants and curated public events.
Their mission emphasises the creation of spaces for Black expressive practices that facilitate healing, dialogue, and experimental art-making. Through programs like micro-grants and residencies, Black Spatial Relics sustains what they describe as “Black radical performance praxis in service of community.”
Title & Description
2025 Conjure Council Fund
The 2025 Conjure Council Fund by Black Spatial Relics is an open invitation to artists and cultural workers who are descendants of the African Diaspora to apply for resources that support the facilitation of periodic, community-oriented spaces. These funds are aimed especially at artist/collective facilitators working at the intersections of art-making, collective care, embodied practice, land-based work, youth-based work and spiritual practice.
The Fund acknowledges the need for spaces in which Black artists and cultural workers can learn and grow together in practices that root them in sustaining their spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing, while building and dreaming new futures. Selected councils will receive support to create serially-organized gatherings rather than single-event projects, emphasising sustained engagement, research and community formation.
Categories
- Social Practice / Collective Facilitation
- Performance & Embodied Practice
- Land-based Work / Youth & Community Engagement
- Spiritual & Ritual Practice in Art
Eligibility
- Applicants must be descendants of the African Diaspora.
- The call is open to artists and cultural workers (individuals or collectives/teams) who facilitate spaces of practice, research, or community-building.
- Works/programs must be more than single-event projects; the Fund supports serial efforts (ongoing or multi-part engagements) rather than one-off events.
- Nominations open to those who exist at intersections of the art-making, care, land-work, youth-practic,e and spiritual practice fields.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Four councils or groups will be awarded funds in this round.
- Each awarded project will receive US$4,000 to support its facilitation and practice.
- The Fund supplies resources to enable community care, collective research, and transformative gatherings led by Black practitioners. This enables participants to build sustainable modes of practice, networking, peer-learning, and public engagement.
- The opportunity offers recognition and professional development in a culturally specific and practice-led context, anchoring Black expressive practices and organising in an institutionalised supportive structure.
Application Fee
No Entree fee
Application Requirements
- Round One (Nomination): Nominations are open from 10 November 2025 – 05 December 2025. Applicants (or those nominating them) must submit nomination details.
- Round Two (Full Application): Selected nominees from Round One will be invited to submit a full application, including work samples, artistic/facilitation statements, and/or facilitation philosophies for panel review.
- Applicants should be prepared to articulate their facilitation practice, outline how their work supports Black inquiry, multi-valent learning, and expansion, and describe the serial nature of their proposed project.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 05 December 2025
- Full Application (Round Two) Deadline: 15 January 2026
- Award Decisions / Announcement: Early March 2026
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Additional Details
- The Fund emphasises that single-event projects are not eligible; priority is given to those designing sustained, serial efforts.
- Projects may engage in land-based, youth-based or spiritual practices; they may link art-making with collective care and community-organising.
- Awardees must be prepared to participate in panel review and follow through with their project plan; Black Spatial Relics will notify Round One nominees and invite full applications.
- The page mentions that the Fund is positioned as a “flagship” program for Black Spatial Relics, building on their previous micro-grant and residency programs.
Website Link: https://www.blackspatialrelics.org/conjurecouncilfund
