2026 Shortlisted Projects
Category 1 - Cultural organisations with up to €200,000 annual expenditure
Jazdaa Polska!, Poland- "Touch Beyond Sight": A new choreographic style developed with blind and partially sighted people, and then passed on to other dancers, including sighted dancers, with a view to creating a joint production.
Frequenz__, Germany - "Boundless Horizons": A rediscovery of Lübeck’s Gothic heritage through a piece performed simultaneously on the organs of the city’s three churches and a collective sound installation created by its residents.
RAMAGU, Slovakia- "LIVING REGIONAL NEWSPAPER": Residents and local minorities in the Zamagurie region are turning into community reporters and create documentary theatre from their own stories.
THEAMA, Greece - "Safe Passage": A digital museum created thanks to the collaboration of refugees, disabled and non-disabled artists, accessible through artworks displayed across Europe.
Cinema and Cultural Development, Ukraine - "Kino Susidiv (Films by Our Neighbors)": A Ukrainian film festival is collaborating with neighbouring European countries to train teenagers to become cultural ambassadors.
Classic Unlimited, Romania- "Classic for Kids": A music van tour introduces children at rural schools in Romania to classical music through hands-on music workshops.
DU Dance (NI), United Kingdom- "TRACES": Three community groups from Northern Ireland have been invited to create a dance piece with professional artists, which will then be transformed into an immersive installation open to the public.
Category 2- Cultural organisations from €200,000 to €1 million annual expenditure
TERCEIRA PESSOA, Portugal- "RADIOACTIVITY": Radio programmes, created by prisoners in five prisons in collaboration with writers, playwrights and sound artists, are broadcast within the prisons and on national public radio.
Ex Voto à la Lune, France- "Kristoffer on the Edge of the Universe": Children are invited to explore the great questions of the universe through a performance and an immersive experience, culminating in the creation of their own short film.
L'Albero, Italy- "Dictionary of Secret Sounds": Deaf and hearing professional artists have come together to create a new form of lyrical expression in which signs, gestures and vibrations play just as much a part as the music, making opera accessible to everyone.
Cultura en Vena, Spain- "Arte Ambulatorio": Turning the hospital into a museum with a Frida Kahlo exhibition for patients, families, carers and healthcare professionals.
The Collective Foundation, Bulgaria- "River Elders": Senior citizens in the city of Sofia are invited to play an active role in contemporary art by creating works alongside professional artists, which will be showcased at the Rivers of Sofia 2027 festival.
Kaloy Foundation, Greece- "ECHO": Children from rural schools in Corinthia are invited to rediscover their local area through its music and colours, alongside local musicians, artists and craftspeople.
London Writers Centre, United Kingdom- "Community Storytellers - Lewisham Borough of Literature": Professional writers are training residents of the London borough of Lewisham to run writing workshops within their own community, with the aim of fostering a lasting interest in literature and writing.
Category 3- Cultural organisations with over €1 million annual expenditure
Gdański Archipelag Kultury, Poland- "WHERE IS MY SHIPYARD?": Former shipyard workers and their children will work with professional artists to share stories, memories and artistic practices, culminating in a monumental site-specific performance piece.
Royal Observatory Greenwich, United Kingdom- "The Travelling Universe: Royal Observatory on Tour": A nationwide programme led by Turner Prizer winning artist Jeremy Deller that brings together astronomers and artists with the aim of making astronomy accessible to everyone.
Opéra de Lille, France- "Open Week": The Opera House will open its doors for a week-long programme suitable for all ages, created in collaboration with artists, audiences and local associations.
NewImages, France- "NewImages OnTour x TUMO": Young people from European creative technology centres are invited to explore immersive and digital artworks before taking on the roles of facilitators, creators and curators.
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières, France- "L'autre retour" : Male and female veterans in Ukraine are supported through a literary and writing programme where creative work will become a travelling exhibition in Ukraine, France and at the European Commission in Brussels.
FESTIVAL.ORG, United Kingdom- "States of Being: Embedding Accessible Practice and Building Representation": A new methodology transforming perceptions of who can dance through collaboration between disabled and non-disabled artists, and audiences, then shared across European festivals.
