Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність
Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність is a Creative Europe–funded project -running from October 2025 until March 2028- that empowers Ukrainian arts and cultural professionals to sustain creativity, resilience, and community connection during and after the war.
Building on the success of the Culture Helps project (2023–2025), this new edition brings together Insha Osvita (Kyiv), zusa (Berlin), the Veteranka movement (Kyiv)—a pioneering NGO advocating for female war veterans and the European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam). Together, they form a consortium that unites expertise in cultural cooperation, mental health, and social reintegration through the arts.
Since 2014, millions of Ukrainians have faced displacement and loss. Amid these hardships, cultural professionals—artists, curators, museum workers, and educators—have become key agents of care, resilience, and social cohesion. Culture Helps Solidarity builds on this spirit, strengthening their capacity to continue this vital work within Ukraine and across Europe.
The project combines three grant schemes with a dynamic programme of mentoring, learning, and networking:
- Individual Care Grants support creative professionals and veterans in maintaining their mental health and wellbeing.
- Project Grants fund cultural initiatives that foster access to the arts and heritage for displaced people and communities rebuilding their lives.
- Collaboration Grants connect organisations in Ukraine and other Creative Europe countries to co-create innovative approaches to inclusion, accessibility, and post-war recovery.
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—a safe space for shared reflection, professional growth, and solidarity across borders.
Calls Open
Culture Helps Solidarity currently accepts applications in the following grant schemes:
Collaboration Grants
Proposals must be submitted by 31 March 2026 at 13:00 Amsterdam time / 14:00 Kyiv time.
Project Grants
Proposals must be submitted by April 16 2026, 13:00 Amsterdam time/ 14:00 Kyiv time.
Closed Calls
The first round of Individual Care Grants to support creative professionals and veterans in maintaining their mental health and well-being closed in February 2026.
New rounds will open: March 16, April 27, June 8 with more rounds to be announced.
Meet the partners
Insha Osvita
Insha Osvita works throughout Ukraine and deals with issues of quality management of non-formal education and adult education.
Insha Osvita
Insha Osvita works throughout Ukraine and deals with issues of quality management of non-formal education and adult education.
VETERANKA Movement
The Ukrainian VETERANKA Movement supports women in the military, protects the rights of women in the security and defense forces, and helps women veterans return to civilian life.
VETERANKA Movement
The Ukrainian VETERANKA Movement supports women in the military, protects the rights of women in the security and defense forces, and helps women veterans return to civilian life.
zusa
zusa, an international organisation working for and with cultural and civil society actors, practices and promotes the art of collaboration as a force for systemic change.zusa
zusa, an international organisation working for and with cultural and civil society actors, practices and promotes the art of collaboration as a force for systemic change.
European Cultural Foundation
European Cultural Foundation grows a sense of European belonging by developing and supporting cultural initiatives that bring people together, inspire hope, foster democracy and imagine a shared future for Europe.European Cultural Foundation
European Cultural Foundation grows a sense of European belonging by developing and supporting cultural initiatives that bring people together, inspire hope, foster democracy and imagine a shared future for Europe.
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.
Header image courtesy of Insha Osvita, taken by Artem Galkin.
