Culture Helps Solidarity

The first 2026 round of Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants will support 16 cultural initiatives working directly with communities affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine. These projects are rooted in everyday places where recovery and connection are needed most: local cultural spaces, workshops, community groups, youth settings, refugee networks and creative gatherings.

This round has a strong geographic spread, with lead organisations based in Ukraine, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, France, Ireland and Germany, and partner organisations working across Ukraine and several other European contexts. The projects connect theatres, cultural centres, rehabilitation centres, literary organisations, art foundations, dance practitioners, music therapists, youth organisations and community groups. Together, they create a European network of care, exchange, and practical collaboration for the people most affected by the war.

Across the selected projects, common themes emerge clearly. Many focus on veterans, internally displaced people, refugees, children and young people, women, LGBTQ+ veterans and cultural workers. Others use documentary theatre, opera, dance, music, literature, photography, archival work, crafts, participatory performance and community art to support expression, recovery and reintegration. From creative workshops for displaced mothers and children to theatre with veterans, from Ukrainian-Irish literary exchange to trauma-informed movement residencies, the projects show culture not as an extra, but as one of the ways people remain connected, visible and able to imagine life beyond survival.

The first round of Culture Helps Solidarity Collaboration Grants brings together 18 projects led by cultural organisations and partners across Ukraine and Europe. The selected initiatives show how cultural work continues to support recovery, connection and public life in response to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. They also show why solidarity needs more than emergency support: it needs long-term relationships, shared practice and the space for people to rebuild trust through culture.

This round has a strong geographic spread, with lead organisations based in Ukraine, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, France, Ireland and Germany, and partner organisations working across Ukraine and several other European contexts. The projects connect theatres, cultural centres, rehabilitation centres, literary organisations, art foundations, dance practitioners, music therapists, youth organisations and community groups. Together, they create a European network of care, exchange, and practical collaboration for the people most affected by the war.

Across the selected projects, common themes emerge clearly. Many focus on veterans, internally displaced people, refugees, children and young people, women, LGBTQ+ veterans and cultural workers. Others use documentary theatre, opera, dance, music, literature, photography, archival work, crafts, participatory performance and community art to support expression, recovery and reintegration. From creative workshops for displaced mothers and children to theatre with veterans, from Ukrainian-Irish literary exchange to trauma-informed movement residencies, the projects show culture not as an extra, but as one of the ways people remain connected, visible and able to imagine life beyond survival.

Photo by Natalia Martynenko.