Hear My Voice poetry Mobility Fund 2022 calls for applications

For 2022, the Mobility Fund does not only enable and incentivise international travel but poets and poetry platforms can also apply to get support for interprovincial travel. The fund will contribute towards poets’ mobility costs to the maximum of R10,000. In the instance of digital mobility, the fund will either match or contribute towards the poets’ performance fee.

The Mobility Fund encourages poets and poetry platforms to apply for their events of digital as well as physical nature, covering part of the participation fee or related travel expenses of South African poets who have been invited to participate in an international or inter-provincial literary festival or related platform.

Hear My Voice, a non-profit organisation based in Pretoria, has supported hundreds of spoken word artists through organising local and international exchange programs, workshops, live spoken word shows, open mics and other literature programs for schools, private companies, government, libraries, festivals and other cultural institutions since its inception in 2016.

Ishmael Sibiya, executive director of Hear My Voice, commented: “We aim to contribute to building a viable and vibrant South African poetry circuit. The aim is to open four rounds of applications this year to support poets not only during one season but to offer consistent support throughout the year.”

Interested applicants can find criteria and may apply here. Applications are open year round but will be assessed a maximum of three times a quarter per this schedule - January to March 2022; April to June 2022; July to September 2022; and October to December 2022.