War in Ukraine

The world has changed dramatically since February 24, 2022, and even more in the last three weeks. This senseless war has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, created a global energy and food crisis, and supercharged a new arms race at the expense of urgent social and environmental priorities. History has returned with force. War remains as brutal and devastating as ever—it is not a computer game. We are living in a new world.

Our Ukrainian friends continue their heroic fight. They remind us that this is about Europe, and they are right. For Putin, this war is not just about Ukraine; it is about rewriting European history and redrawing borders. It is a battle for Europe.

A few days before this third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the new US president has declared the Ukrainian president a dictator who started the war against Russia. He now wants to solve the “Ukraine conflict” in bilateral talks with the Russian aggressor. It is difficult to digest. Who is who in the global battle between liberty and autocracy? As someone who grew up during the first Cold War, I feel that history is coming full circle.

But there is also good news: Ukraine has withstood Russia’s onslaught. Europe stands mostly united in supporting Ukraine, even as challenges persist. Millions of Ukrainian refugees have been welcomed and integrated into European societies. We have reduced our dependency on Russian gas and oil. Following the recent vicious attacks on Europe by the Trump administration we’d better prepare for a decoupling from the Trump US in terms of strategic industries and infrastructure, including digital and AI.

When we look at our ECF mission, we see that European sentiment is stronger than it has been in a long time. In moments of existential crisis, people recognise the importance of European partnerships and solidarity. The ECFR-ECF 2024 Sentiment Compass highlighted this, even though it warned us three blind spots might harm this shared European sentiment. One cannot help but wonder: Why does it take a war and US bullying to make Europeans feel European? A suggestion from the Sentiment Compass is “to fill the ‘civic’ conception of Europeanness with content, as to offer a tangible and attractive alternative to ethnic conceptions.” We can be thankful to Ukrainians to show us what that content can look like.

At ECF, we have responded quickly and decisively. Through the Culture of Solidarity Fund, we have supported more than 100 projects of cultural solidarity with Ukraine and, together with our partners, invested over 1.8 million euros. While this is only a drop in the ocean of needs, it remains one of the most significant European cultural solidarity actions with Ukraine to date. Moreover, we continue to advocate for a European Cultural Deal for Ukraine—ensuring substantial European support for Ukraine’s cultural sector now and sustainable assistance for the country’s reconstruction.

Today marks a bitter anniversary. But it also serves as a reminder that the founding narrative of modern Europe—peace through sharing—remains as relevant, if not more so, than it was in the 1950s. Ukraine’s future is in Europe, but there is no future without culture. In this spirit, we will continue to do what we do best: fostering and supporting a European culture of solidarity.

Europe needs Ukraine as Ukraine needs Europe. The recovery and future of Ukraine in the EU cannot be envisaged without culture playing its full role. This needs the determination and commitment of Ukraine to embed culture in its recovery, reconstruction and modernisation strategy.

As part of our Cultural Deal for Europe we urgently call on the EU to include Ukraine’s cultural, cultural heritage and creative sectors in EU relief packages for Ukraine and the Ukraine Facility (2024-2027). We call on the EU institutions and Member States to join forces to include emergency and recovery needs from the world of art, culture and cultural heritage within the EU humanitarian support to Ukraine. This includes the macro-financial assistance package to help the country meet its financing needs, as well as the Trust Fund for Ukraine mobilising international donors.

“While the world focuses on military tactics in Ukraine, a quieter war rages for the soul of the nation…..Amidst all the talk a critical front is being ignored: the cultural front.”

In an op’ed for EU Observer in July 2024 our Head of Public Policy makes the case for a one billion euro European Cultural Deal for Ukraine:

“Aware of the deep cultural dimension of the conflict, the initiators of the Cultural Deal for Europe campaign – European Cultural Foundation, Culture Action Europe, Europa Nostra – supported by hundreds of arts, culture, and civil society actors, including important philanthropies like TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary and Museums for Ukraine, have come together calling for a European Cultural Deal for Ukraine.

The European Cultural Deal for Ukraine proposes a strategic, longterm vision for Ukraine, firmly attached to European values and with a solid European sentiment towards its people.”

We have created a union of states and institutions. We still need to craft a union of values and people. It is culture that brings us together as Europeans, igniting the hearts and fuelling the minds of citizens. Without culture, the very future of Europe is under threat.

Together, DutchCulture, the European Cultural Foundation, and the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam presented a double-bill of two special screenings on February 21. Through two powerful documentaries, we explored the resilience of Ukraine’s people and cultural sectors in the face of war.

This documentary by Cem Altınöz, created in collaboration with DutchCulture and filmed during a five-day visit to the Netherlands, shares the stories of regional museum workers in Ukraine. In the face of immense challenges, they have redefined their roles, demonstrating the impact of international solidarity. The film highlights how strength and resilience have become the cornerstone of the identity Ukrainians strive to protect. Along the way, we get a sneak peek into the passionate, sincere, and sometimes humorous conversations between Ukrainian and Dutch museum professionals as they visit museums across the Netherlands, from Enschede to Den Bosch. 

Followed by a discussion with those involved in the visitor program featured in the documentary: Kateryna Chuyeva (online) – independent museum expert and former vice-minister of culture of Ukraine from 2021-2023, Cem Altınöz, filmmaker, Arnoud Odding – researcher and strategic advisor for museums, Tijana Stepanovic – advisor Central and Eastern Europe at DutchCulture. 

In November 2022 we partnered up with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s which presented the ground-breaking art produced in Ukraine in the first decades of the 20th century, showcasing trends that range from figurative art to futurism and constructivism.

Our collaboration involved presenting two panel discussions on the opening event. The first one offered a critical review of the Ukrainian history of art during the first decades of the twentieth century. The second one – see video slider below – discussed the vital role of culture in shaping a sense of togetherness, a European sentiment, in times of crisis, recovery and beyond.

Preceding the two panel discussions President Zelensky shared a video-message in which he adresses the power of arts and culture.

More on the exhibition In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s:

The development of Ukrainian modernism took place against a complicated socio-political backdrop of collapsing empires, the First World War, the revolutions of 1917 with the ensuing Ukrainian War of Independence (1917–21), and the eventual creation of Soviet Ukraine. The ruthless Stalinist repressions against Ukrainian intelligentsia led to the execution of dozens of writers, theatre directors and artists, while the Holodomor, the man-made famine of 1932–33, killed millions of Ukrainians.

Despite these tragic circumstances, Ukrainian art of the period lived through a true renaissance of creative experimentation. In the Eye of the Storm reclaims this essential – though little-known in the West – chapter of European modernism, displaying around 70 works in a full range of media, from oil paintings and sketches to collages and theatre designs.

Read more on the website of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary

The Culture of Solidarity Fund is a public-philanthropic partnership launched in 2020 by the European Cultural Foundation as a rapid response tool to support cross-border cultural initiatives of solidarity to the coronavirus pandemic. Based on this network and infrastructure, the Culture of Solidarity Fund Ukraine was swiftly launched in March 2022 to support cultural emergency requests from Ukraine. In three rounds of funding – a Special Ukraine edition, a first Eunic Ukraine edition and a second Eunic Ukraine edition – over last years the fund has supported more than 100 initiatives of cultural solidarity with Ukraine, with grants totalling 1,8 million Euro, not in the least thanks to co-funders spent.

Below we’ll cite from their reporting on their activities, or share links to further explore their projects.

(Re)Grounding is an urgent call to build solidarity towards environmental justice through artistic production and community exchange. (Re)Grounding also is an exhibition, curated by Lucy Nychai, which you can visit online.

Over the past two years, Ukrainian artists have been seeking answers to environmental challenges during residencies with D6 in Cyprus and the UK and with IZOLYATSIA in Ukraine, drawing threads between the histories shared between their homeland and communities of the mining areas of Lefke and Skouriotissa in Cyprus and the North East of England.

Taking the artists’ research and responses to create a journey, the exhibition begins deep in the earth, moving to extraction and invasion, then to gardening and finally looking to the future. Each artist brings a unique perspective, expressing their findings through their chosen mediums. They respond with poetry, performance, experimentation, film and photography, incorporating collaboration, science and technology.

The projects investigate the impact of industrial activity on the environment, with a particular emphasis on the effects of war, which has left its mark on both the artists and the programme itself.

As part of the series of interviews with Culture of Solidarity Fund grantees, EUNIC’s Franziska Stambke exchanged with Nikola Sedláčková (Czech Centres Prague) and Sarah Doignon (Institut français Prague) on the collaborative process of the project ‘Sharing Ukrainian Stories‘ and engaging Czech citizens in solidarity with Ukraine.

Could you please provide a brief introduction to the project and who is leading it?
The project ‘Sharing Ukrainian Stories in Prague’ is a joint initiative of seven members of the EUNIC cluster Prague, led by Institut francais in Prague. The main idea of the project is to provide a platform for storytelling in Czech public space about the situation and life in Ukraine but also about the lives of those who had to flee their country. As the conflict in Ukraine shows no sign of ending soon, it is necessary to contribute to drawing the attention and solidarity towards the Ukrainian people, especially to the Ukrainian cultural scene and Ukrainian artists. The important feature of the project is the variety of activities ranging from the film festival screenings across the publication of a documentary novel to workshops. The project seeks to be not just a one-off activity but a continuous support starting last autumn 2023 all through to summer 2024.

Looking back at the last years, the war in Ukraine has resulted in a sense of solidarity towards Ukraine but also among the EU as a com- munity. 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.

The Culture of Solidarity Fund opened a dedicated 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 the Government of Flanders and the European Cultural Foundation and additional contribu- tions from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Czech Centres.

One of the grantees in this edition was the project Zatyshok/ Gezelligheid by the Ukrainian School Dzherelo in Amsterdam, Ukrainians in the Netherlands Foundation. Their Maryna Staryk, one of the administrators and curriculum designers in the school, told us about their project.

The CryptoArt Ukraine community predated the Ukraine war. In 2021, a Telegram group was created in tandem with a booming NFT2 industry and global digital art scene. The Covid-19 pandemic had spurred digital art spaces and metaverses. “I was very surprised how easy it was to distribute art works using NFTs, sell them to global metaverses, and have relationships with art collectors,” says Nikita Khudiakov, project manager of Art Optimists.

Already before the war, some 2,000 mostly Ukrainian and Russian artists had joined the Telegram group and community. Its members exchanged information and helped each other out in navigating the digital art scene. When the Russian invasion started in February 2022, “we found ourselves in a complex cocktail, where several things were happening,” says Khudiakov. Existing community members ended up in (acute) danger, under occupation. Contact was suddenly lost with active artists in the scene. At the same time, the crypto market peaked globally. “It was a very intense moment: we were sharing city-by-city information about the invasion, and at the same moment we were discussing selling our artworks,” says Khudiakov. Some artists directly sent the earnings from their art sales to people in the frontline. “When it became clear that NFTs were a good tool for fundraising for social and military initiatives, there was a huge demand on just understanding how this thing worked,” says Khudiakov. “Many organizations approached artists and asked for collaborations. Artists became a very valuable asset.”

The “hyper horizontal” organisation of the enormous group called for reforms to be more effective and responsive. A board was created to make decisions faster, as well as a so-called “rescue team”, a small group of volunteers who helped members with logistical questions 24/7 and map which artists were in danger. Russian spying networks active within the community prompted the group to remove some members and better protect its communications.

The support by the Culture of Solidarity Fund contributed to 1) Provide financial, psychological and other support to Ukrainian crypto artists, 2) create an educational course so more people could learn how to create and promote their NFTs, 3) free English courses for Ukrainian artists to better navigate the global crypto art scene, and 4) build a website and organize a series of events to promote Ukrainian crypto artists.

The main message from this grantee for similar change makers is about the existential meaning and strength of community. “It brings value to the world and people. It’s good to understand how community works and use that knowledge. Community is a fluid place – people are constantly going from one place to another – but it’s the culture that stays,” says Khudiakov. Combined with agile management, (art) communities have the potential to be incredibly powerful.

Since 2016 the residency Sorry No Rooms Available is a dynamic initiative with that wants to decentralise the development of the cultural economy and contemporary art in Ukraine. The residency seeks to integrate participants into the vibrant local art scene while also positioning itself as a cultural international platform, actively engaging with European and global art processes. During their stay, residents are encouraged to embark on at least one site-specific project, allowing them to reflect on the hotel itself, its unique site, and its captivating history, thereby adding depth and significance to their artistic endeavours.

“The antiwarcoalition.art project became a reaction to Russia’s war and aggression against Ukraine and considers this war as part of the global processes taking place not only in Eastern Europe, but all over the world. The main goal was to bring together cultural workers into a network of support and solidarity with Ukraine, to reflect what Judith Butler called our global connectedness and interdependence, and to support artists from Ukraine and Belarus, create opportunities to present their works at major art events and institutions in Europe, to create a sustainable network for the promotion and public discourse of the actual agenda.”

“The project was initiated by Ambasada Kultury and a group of Belarusian and Ukrainian curators and cultural workers. We focused on topics such as the definition and borders of today’s Europe, how countries that are geographically part of Europe but are at the periphery, which groups of people are included or excluded from global processes, how we are connected to each other. For example, how is the war in Ukraine connected to the production of bread in Egypt, and the successful ending of protests in Iran will stop the supply of drones for the Russian army.”

“It is [..] necessary to mention the nomadic character of the project, all our events are realized in different geographical locations and contexts with a conceptual connection to the topic of the project and local context. Our goal in such shimmering, migrating exhibitions, discussions is to build networks of international solidarity, to exchange experiences with one another, to build bridges of empathy, to mapping the possibilities for a new language, the lack of which our participants are constantly feeling.”

The antiwarcoalition curatorial team in partnership with international art institutions has realized more than 28 offline events: public discussions, screening programs, exhibitions, workshops. The antiwarcolation was presented at amongst others Documenta 15, Manifesta 14, the 59th Venice Biennale in cooperation with the national pavilions of Poland and Lithuania, and The European Pavilion in Rome.

The project has developed and is continuing to evolve in two directions: The creation and expansion of an open online archive of artistic statements on the topics of war, dictatorship, imperialism, patriarchy and human rights violations. And,  the organization and implementation of a public events program, in cooperation with international art and culture institutions and initiatives.

Our news feeds are filled with news on Ukraine. But, because of our reading habits, filter bubbles and linguistic skills, we mostly get Western or national perspectives. Coverage from local sources and perspectives is essential to diversify our understanding and explore the nuances of a fraught environment.

To this end, with the support of the Culture of Solidarity Fund, news outlet Voxeurop endeavours to expand its coverage of the crisis by providing its readers and partners with content that is otherwise hard to access. Their project ‘Ukraine invasion: local perspectives’ was set in motion in 2022 and supports local independent news media from Ukraine and the countries concerned– Russia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Moldova, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

“European Culture of Solidarity providing support and conditions for development in times of crises. It is support to professionals from the cultural sector, which is usually very vulnerable, because of “being not first priority during urgent time.” For us, also European Culture of Solidarity became support not only to Ukrainians abroad, but as well to those who would like to stay and work in Ukraine and develop. As we can feel huge Solidarity from diverse institution, directed to those, who moved from Ukraine. But here are fewer opportunities for those, struggling to continue their work, not leaving the country.” Find out more on the Chornobyldorf website.

“As I am writing this report, I feel it’s not so easy to concentrate on the words. The first part of the day went in hearing the explosions and in constant looking at the news: what more was hit? what cities? how many people died? On October 10th Russia conducted more than 80 attacks on more than 30 Ukrainian towns and cities with missiles and other weapons. These numbers hardly tell anything to you, who is reading this report, but behind them are lots of things: from inability to work properly to deaths and injuries. That’s why I find it hard to answer the questions about the future and to think about large-scale questions. However, in terms of our project, the next thing we need to do is to publish a book. This was the thing we were planning to do even before the war, and now, although it became harder to do so, we still need to make this photography book to finish the Old khata project as it has been planned from its start in 2019.”

“We strongly believe that visual contemporary art is one way to materialize a peaceful future despite despair. While other mediums of expression like writing, journalism, music etc. are important, they are also significantly different from contemporary art. Artist’s lived experiences encapsulated into cultural artifacts can build on empathy, create solidarity, and offer a critical understanding of what has been happening since February 24th 2022 and of what will continue to happen tomorrow. Ensuring artists the conditions to create and preserve these cultural artifacts is the biggest urgency cultural solidarity initiatives with a European focus need to tackle in the immediate and mid-term future. This is exactly why we want to continue this project with a new chapter, presenting an understanding of the conflict not only at its borders, like in the first part of the project in Bucharest, but in a global center like New York City.” 

See more works via the website of Galeria Catinca Tabacaru.

The Europe Challenge is an annual programme that brings together teams from libraries and communities across Europe to address social isolation, inequality, disinformation, climate crises and other local challenges by developing, sharing and implementing creative solutions with support from the European Cultural Foundation and its partners. The initiative is a unique growing network of European libraries that work together to enhance democratic participation and social and environmental well-being through citizen-led local change.

Buchach Town Public Library in the south-west of Ukraine faces the challenge of supporting local readers, displaced people, servicemen and vulnerable groups amid the ongoing crisis prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since 2022, the community has experienced heightened stress, fear and anxiety as a result of the war. Together with the non-governmental organisation Buchach ART, the library has been providing psychological counselling and art therapy to help manage mental health issues, particularly for internally displaced people, military families and families of soldiers who have died during the conflict. 

In response to the challenges faced by injured veterans and civilians with vision disabilities, this library in Lviv is hosting a digital skills course for friends and relatives of people with vision disabilities, together with the Institution of Ukrainian Studies. The initiative aims to empower friends and family members to help with their loved one’s rehabilitation, using digital tools like screen readers. Designed and run by experts in this field, lessons are tailored to include psychological support, addressing specific needs arising from war-related conditions.  

Ternopil Regional Universal Scientific Library is working together with the Ternopil branch of the Ukrainian Library Association to organise hybrid language classes – both offline and online – for people to learn Polish. These intensive classes, some of which are available via YouTube and Zoom, are aimed at different age groups and are available in different languages without charge to both refugees and local residents.

Against a challenging backdrop of electricity blackouts and the threat of shelling, the open educational space is an effective tool to support residents of the Ternopil region and people who have been displaced by the war – helping to develop their language and cultural skills, increase their cultural, linguistic and socio-psychological literacy and in turn leading to increased social activity and helping people to adapt to the new circumstances they find themselves in.

A collaboration between Lesia Ukrainka Public Library in Kyiv and young offenders, the challenge involves testing and developing the support offered to prisoners and people on probation in Kyiv and across Ukraine to help them develop the life skills they need to help prepare them for life after prison.

By organising meetings and sociocultural events, as well as training sessions and masterclasses, the challenge team is helping to overcome digital divides and improve levels of information literacy for people who’ve spent time behind bars – as well as supporting staff at the probation centre.