Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність

Across Ukraine, artists, educators, curators and cultural workers are helping communities stay connected through creativity, shared experience and support. In difficult moments, cultural spaces become places where people gather, reflect and find strength together.

Culture Helps Solidarity supports this work. Running from October 2025 to March 2028, the Creative Europe–funded project strengthens the ability of Ukrainian cultural professionals to continue creating, caring and connecting – both within Ukraine and across Europe.

Building on earlier collaboration, partners in Amsterdam, Kyiv and Berlin combine experience in cultural cooperation, education, mental well-being and social reintegration. Together, they create opportunities for cultural workers and communities to learn from one another and build lasting ties across borders.

Support takes different forms. Some grants help individuals and veterans sustain their well-being. Others enable cultural initiatives that widen access to the arts and heritage for people rebuilding their lives. Cross-border collaborations bring organisations together to develop new approaches to inclusion, accessibility and recovery. Beyond funding, the project creates a community of mentoring, peer learning and exchange. It is a space for reflection, professional growth and solidarity.

By nurturing creativity, wellbeing and human connection, Culture Helps Solidarity contributes to rebuilding lives and communities, while strengthening cultural ties across Europe.

The various calls for proposals will be rolled out starting in January 2026. Over €1.4 million in funding will reach over 200 individuals and organisations. Beyond financial support, the project fosters a community of peer learning, mentoring, and exchange. It is a safe space for shared reflection, professional growth, and solidarity across borders.

Culture Helps Solidarity recognises that culture is central to recovery and democracy. By ensuring that Ukrainian artists and cultural workers remain active, visible, and connected to their European peers, the project supports both individual healing and the collective rebuilding of Ukraine’s cultural life.

At its heart, Culture Helps Solidarity affirms that culture is not a luxury in times of crisis it is a lifeline. By nurturing creativity, wellbeing, and human connection, the project helps rebuild lives and communities in and outside Ukraine, while strengthening Europe’s shared commitment to freedom, empathy, and solidarity.