The jury thanks all applicants to the AFAC Creative and Critical Writings grants program. We reviewed a significant number of projects, which varied between creative and critical writing. The quantity and quality of projects that linked the visual, literary and critical arts was striking, an indication of the way in which creative processes are increasingly open to the interaction of different artistic fields. The inclination toward exploring collective and spatial memory, away from excessive subjectivity, was also striking.

The diversity and quality of projects made the committee’s selection process difficult. We ended up adopting several criteria in order to sort the project: the originality and uniqueness of the submitted project, the coherence between the supporting material and the submitted project, and the feasibility of its execution. We also wanted to support initiatives and institutions whose projects aim to serve a wide number of writers and fill gaps in the literary scene. We were pleased to read through all the projects presented and their openness to different literary and artistic genres, which reflects the richness in the creative Arab scene, despite the current conditions. We send our best wishes for success to everyone.