On 15 and 16 October 2026, the international conference »Networks of Cooperation: Sustainable Structures for Ukrainian Cultural Actors in Europe and Beyond« will bring together cultural institutions, funding bodies, policymakers, artists and experts from Ukraine, Austria and across Europe at Kunsthaus Graz. The focus of the conference is the question of how the support measures established since 2022 can be developed into sustainable forms of long-term cultural cooperation.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Ukrainian arts and cultural sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience. Across Europe, cultural institutions and initiatives have responded with residencies, guest programmes, funding opportunities and institutional support. Four years later, the challenge is increasingly shifting from emergency assistance to the creation of lasting structures that enable long-term collaboration.

Against this backdrop, the two-day conference in Graz offers a platform for exchange, reflection and strategic discussion. It is organised by Office Ukraine (Vienna/tranzit.at and Graz/rotor), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport, and Creative Europe Desk Austria, in cooperation with Kunsthaus Graz, Creative Europe Desk Ukraine and the Institute for Human Sciences.

The conference forms part of a broader set of initiatives by the Austrian Ministry of Culture to support Ukrainian cultural professionals. Austrian Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Culture Andreas Babler will open the event.

In addition to reviewing support programmes implemented since 2022, the conference will address key structural questions concerning future cooperation. Particular attention will be paid to strengthening connections between Ukrainian cultural institutions and independent initiatives on the one hand, and European cultural organisations, networks and funding bodies on the other. Existing imbalances within European funding and cooperation structures will also be discussed.

Participants include representatives of cultural institutions, funding organisations, policy and research institutions, as well as artists and cultural practitioners from Ukraine, Austria and across Europe.

Further information is available at www.artistshelp-ukraine.at.

Header image: Kunsthaus Graz, exterior view, © Christian Plach