Looking back at the last half year, the war in Ukraine has produced a heightened solidarity towards Ukraine but also amongst the EU as a community. With Ukraine now as a confirmed EU candidate country, a perspective and invitation of getting to know each other between Ukraine and EU countries emerges, a cultural dimension accompanying the wider process of reform and civil society strengthening which accompanies EU ascension negotiations.

Within this evolving landscape, an opportunity arises for the Ukrainian cultural sector to continue to build and develop relationships within other EU countries. Knowledge and access to Ukrainian art and culture varies hugely across EU member states, but generally little is known about the dynamic cultural and creative history and presence of this large neighbour to the East. Opportunities, therefore, arise to expand the shared cultural space into the future, deepening the acts of solidarity provoked by the war into longer-term international cultural relations, deepening trust and understanding.

The Culture of Solidarity Fund is now launching a special call looking to promote the visibility and embeddedness of Ukrainian Culture across Europe, in partnership with EUNIC (the network of EU National Institutes for Culture), with funding from several EUNIC members and with core financing led by the Goethe-Institut (currently holding the Presidency of the EUNIC network), and the Institut français and Instituto Cervantes, as well as the grantmaking support of the European Cultural Foundation (ECF).