Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність
Funding: European Union
Partners: zusa, VETERANKA movement, European Cultural Foundation
Duration: October 2025 — March 2028
Project management: Bozhena Pelenska, Uliana Kostenko
Contact: chs@culturafoundation.eu
“Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність” is a project funded by the Creative Europe programme and will run from October 2025 to March 2028. Its goal is to support Ukrainian artists and cultural practitioners in sustaining their work, resilience, and connection with communities — during the war and beyond.
Building on the experience of the “Culture Helps / Культура допомагає” project (2023–2025), the renewed programme brings together the European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam), Insha Osvita (Kyiv), zusa (Berlin), and the VETERANKA movement (Kyiv). Together, we combine expertise in cultural cooperation, mental health support, and social reintegration through art.
Since 2014, millions of Ukrainians have experienced forced displacement and loss. Despite this, cultural practitioners — artists, curators, museum workers, educators — have become key agents of care, resilience, and social cohesion. “Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність” strengthens this potential by reinforcing the capacity of cultural actors to continue their work in Ukraine and beyond.
The project integrates three grant strands with mentoring, training, and networking programs:
- Individual Grants Program — focuses on supporting the mental health of artists and veterans.
- Project Grants Program — supports cultural initiatives that help people displaced by the war in Ukraine integrate into new communities through culture.
- Collaboration Grants Program — supports partnerships between organizations from Creative Europe countries and Ukraine that develop new approaches to inclusion, accessibility, and post-war recovery.
The first open call will be announced in January 2026. In total, over €1.4 million will be allocated to support more than 200 cultural practitioners and organizations. In addition to financial support, the project offers a community of peer learning, mentoring, and exchange.
“Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність” recognizes that culture and the arts are essential drivers of recovery and democracy. By ensuring the activity, visibility, and connection of Ukrainian artists and cultural practitioners with European colleagues, the project supports both individual professional recovery and the collective rebuilding of Ukraine’s cultural life. Culture is not a luxury in times of crisis, but a vital foundation. By supporting creativity, well-being, and human connection, the project helps restore lives and communities in Ukraine and beyond, while strengthening Europe’s shared commitment to freedom, empathy, and solidarity.
Read more at cultureofsolidarityfund.eu or contact: chs@culturafoundation.eu.
