Applications Open for Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants

The Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants support arts, culture, and civil society projects that develop responsible memory and commemoration initiatives related to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Eligible organisations in Ukraine and Creative Europe countries can receive up to €7,000 per project for activities lasting up to six months, with projects starting no earlier than 1 February 2027.

Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants

The Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants are part of a multi-year initiative designed to support creativity, resilience, solidarity, and community connection among arts and culture professionals affected by the war in Ukraine.

The initiative is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme and implemented by the European Cultural Foundation in partnership with Insha Osvita, zusa, and the VETERANKA Movement.

The second Project Grants call focuses specifically on memory and commemoration. It supports projects that document, interpret, preserve, and publicly reflect on experiences connected to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

What Does the Project Grants Programme Support?

The grant supports creative and community-led projects that explore how wartime experiences can be remembered and responsibly represented.

Projects may use artistic, educational, research-based, or participatory approaches.

Supported initiatives can focus on:

• Memory and commemoration.
• Documentation of wartime experiences.
• Artistic interpretation of personal and collective memories.
• Public reflection and remembrance.
• Educational activities related to wartime memory.
• Participatory community projects.
• Research-based memory initiatives.
• Documentation of experiences of affected communities.
• Creative approaches to preserving stories and testimonies.

Projects should give careful consideration to the people whose experiences are being represented.

Key Grant Details

• Grant name: Culture Helps Solidarity – Project Grants
• Current call: Second Project Grants call
• Theme: Memory and commemoration related to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine
• Maximum grant: €7,000 per project
• Minimum projects supported: 15 in this round
• Total grants across four thematic calls: At least 60
• Maximum project duration: 6 months
• Earliest project start date: 1 February 2027
• Eligible locations: Ukraine and Creative Europe countries
• Eligible sectors: Cultural, creative, civil society, and related fields

Why Does This Grant Matter?

War affects not only physical infrastructure and livelihoods but also collective memory, identity, community relationships, and cultural heritage.

Memory and commemoration projects can help communities preserve important experiences while creating spaces for reflection and dialogue.

The programme particularly recognises the importance of representing the experiences of people affected by the war, including:

• Women veterans.
• Servicewomen.
• Families of people who have died.
• Internally displaced communities.
• Witnesses of wartime events.
• Other communities directly affected by the war.

The programme also emphasises responsible storytelling. Projects should avoid exploiting traumatic experiences and instead protect the dignity, safety, agency, and wellbeing of participants and communities.

Trauma-Informed Approach

Applicants should incorporate trauma-informed principles into the design and delivery of their projects.

This means projects should consider how collecting, documenting, displaying, or discussing traumatic experiences could affect participants.

Applicants should therefore demonstrate:

• Respect for participants’ dignity and personal boundaries.
• Informed and appropriate participation.
• Protection of personal and sensitive stories.
• Safe approaches to collecting testimonies.
• Respect for the wishes and agency of people whose experiences are represented.
• Appropriate handling of potentially traumatic material.
• Meaningful participation rather than token representation.

Who Is Eligible?

The Project Grants are open to organisations working in the cultural, creative, or civil sector.

Eligible applicants include:

• Civic organisations.
• Public organisations.
• Private organisations.
• Cultural organisations.
• Creative-sector organisations.
• Civil society organisations.
• Organisations based in Ukraine.
• Organisations based in Creative Europe countries.

The applicant organisation must be able to act as the legal entity responsible for the project.

Can Individuals Apply?

Individuals with strong project ideas are encouraged to participate by applying with an eligible organisation serving as their legal entity.

This means an individual may develop the project concept but should work with an eligible organisation that can formally submit and manage the grant.

What Types of Projects Could Be Suitable?

Potential projects could include initiatives such as:

• Community exhibitions documenting wartime experiences.
• Artistic projects exploring collective memory.
• Oral-history or testimony documentation projects.
• Educational programmes about remembrance and the war.
• Participatory memorial or commemorative activities.
• Digital archives or creative documentation projects.
• Research-based cultural projects.
• Projects preserving stories of displaced communities.
• Initiatives highlighting the experiences of women veterans or servicewomen.

The project should have a clear connection to memory, remembrance, documentation, or commemoration and address the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Funding and Project Duration

Each selected project can receive up to €7,000.

The programme plans to support at least 15 projects in this call, while at least 60 grants are expected to be awarded across the four thematic calls.

Projects can run for a maximum of six months.

Importantly, funded activities must not begin before 1 February 2027.

Applicants should therefore ensure that their proposed timetable is realistic and does not schedule project activities before the permitted start date.

How the Project Grants Work

Applicants should follow a clear project-development process before submitting their proposal.

Step 1: Define the Memory or Commemoration Issue

Identify the specific wartime experience, community, story, or memory that the project will address.

The proposal should clearly explain why this issue requires documentation, remembrance, artistic interpretation, or public reflection.

Step 2: Identify the Target Community

Explain who will participate in or benefit from the project.

This could include:

• Veterans.
• Servicewomen.
• Families of fallen people.
• Displaced communities.
• Witnesses.
• Local communities.
• Cultural professionals.
• Young people or educators.

Step 3: Select an Appropriate Format

Determine how the project will communicate or preserve these experiences.

Possible formats include:

• Art exhibitions.
• Performances.
• Workshops.
• Educational activities.
• Research.
• Digital projects.
• Community events.
• Documentation initiatives.
• Participatory storytelling.

Step 4: Apply Trauma-Informed Principles

Explain how the project will protect participants and ensure that their stories are handled responsibly.

This is particularly important when working with people who have experienced displacement, violence, loss, or other traumatic events.

Step 5: Develop a Six-Month Work Plan

Create a realistic schedule covering the project’s preparation, implementation, public activities, and completion.

No funded activity should begin before 1 February 2027.

Step 6: Prepare the Project Budget

The requested amount can be up to €7,000.

The budget should be directly connected to the proposed activities and demonstrate that the requested funding will contribute to meaningful project outcomes.

Step 7: Submit Through an Eligible Organisation

Individuals with project ideas should work with an eligible organisation that can serve as the project’s legal entity.

Organisations should ensure that their proposed activities fall within the cultural, creative, or civil-society scope of the call.

Tips for a Strong Application

Applicants should make the proposal specific and outcome-oriented.

Key points to consider include:

• Clearly define the project’s memory or commemoration objective.
• Explain why the project is relevant to communities affected by the war.
• Identify the people who will participate or benefit.
• Describe the artistic, educational, research, or participatory methodology.
• Explain how participants’ dignity and safety will be protected.
• Include a realistic six-month timeline.
• Ensure the budget directly supports the proposed activities.
• Demonstrate the project’s potential for meaningful public reflection or remembrance.
• Avoid presenting traumatic experiences solely for dramatic or artistic effect.
• Show how the project gives appropriate agency to people whose experiences are represented.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should avoid:

• Proposing projects unrelated to memory or commemoration.
• Beginning activities before 1 February 2027.
• Treating personal wartime experiences without appropriate safeguards.
• Failing to explain who benefits from the project.
• Using a vague or overly broad project concept.
• Providing an unrealistic implementation schedule.
• Including costs that are not clearly connected to project activities.
• Applying as an individual without an eligible legal entity where one is required.
• Failing to explain the project’s relevance to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants programme?

It is a grant programme supporting arts, culture, and civil-society initiatives connected to memory, commemoration, creativity, resilience, and community connection in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

How much funding is available?

Each selected project can receive up to €7,000.

How long can a funded project last?

Projects can run for a maximum of six months.

When can projects begin?

Funded activities must not begin before 1 February 2027.

Who can apply?

Eligible civic, public, and private organisations based in Ukraine or Creative Europe countries can apply if they operate in the cultural, creative, or civil sector.

Can individuals apply?

Individuals with strong project ideas are encouraged to apply with an eligible organisation acting as their legal entity.

What should projects focus on?

The second call focuses on memory and commemoration projects addressing the lived experiences and impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Projects may use artistic, educational, research-based, documentation, or participatory approaches.

Conclusion

The Culture Helps Solidarity Project Grants provide up to €7,000 for projects that preserve memory, encourage responsible commemoration, and create meaningful ways to reflect on the experiences of communities affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Organisations in Ukraine and Creative Europe countries, as well as individuals working with eligible organisations, can use the opportunity to develop culturally sensitive initiatives that document experiences, strengthen community connection, and support responsible public remembrance.