Belize Culture Fund Invests $60,000 in 24 Cultural Projects

The Belize Culture Fund is investing $60,000 for its third funding cycle, supporting 24 cultural projects across Belize focused on preserving heritage, developing creative talent and documenting the country’s stories.

Minister of Culture Francis Fonseca announced the increased funding at the award ceremony, following more than 50 applications for a programme that initially had $30,000 to support nine projects.

Rolando Cocom, director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Research at the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), said the expanded funding will allow the programme to reach more communities.

“We are now able to award 24 grants, tripling the number of projects supported and extending our reach into the communities across Belize,” he said.

Twenty projects will receive $2,000 each, and four institutional grants will provide $5,000 each. The funded initiatives include a youth Maya musical ensemble in Corozal, a short Creole comedy film, a digital archive of women artists, interactive augmented-reality experiences for Belize City murals and a Garifuna youth theatre programme in Dangriga.

Fonseca said the fund awarded 20 grants during its first two years, supporting projects in areas including language preservation, artistic works and cultural festivals.

“This fund is built on partnership and a clear intention to lower obstacles to entry and support targeted, vulnerable, emerging and still developing artistic and cultural projects,” he said.