European Alliance of Academies launches the four-year project Re:Create Europe supported by Creative Europe
Villa Decius is a member of the European Alliance of Academies, an international network of cultural institutions committed to protecting and promoting artistic freedom across Europe. We are united by shared values such as solidarity, cultural diversity, the defense of fundamental rights, support for artists at risk, and the belief that culture plays a crucial role in building open and democratic societies. Our collaboration within the network creates a space for exchange, mutual support, and collective responses to the challenges facing the European cultural sector today. We are now entering a new phase of even closer cooperation as we begin to implement a new joint programme together.
We are happy to share that The European Alliance of Academies launches the four-year project “The Art of Resilience and Resistance: Empowering artists and cultural professionals tackling new challenges in Europe”, in short: Re:Create Europe, supported by a large-scale grant under the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. The project will run from 2026 to 2029 and is implemented by a consortium of European art academies and cultural institutions.
Re:Create Europe is not only a support programme, but a clear institutional response to the growing pressures on artistic freedom and cultural autonomy across Europe. Artists and cultural professionals are increasingly working under conditions shaped by war and aggression, political instrumentalisation, economic precarity, ecological collapse, and shrinking civic space. In this context, resilience cannot be understood as adaptation alone, but as a cultural, ethical, and civic responsibility.
Through a combination of mobility programmes, blended learning formats, onsite residencies, digital mapping, and international conferences, Re:Create Europe aims to empower artists and cultural professionals across disciplines and regions. The project strengthens transnational solidarity, supports artistic practice under conditions of crisis, and fosters exchange between institutions, practitioners, and policy-oriented cultural actors.
The project will officially begin with a Kick-off Meeting on Wednesday, 25 March 2026 (2–4 pm).
During this meeting, partner institutions will introduce their perspectives and outline their visions for the next four years. Under the overarching theme “Transformation of Cultural Policies”, the first project year focuses on the role of artistic and cultural practices in strengthening cultural resilience, institutional autonomy, and civic engagement.
Since its founding in 2020, the European Alliance of Academies — today comprising 72 art academies and cultural institutions across Europe — has been actively advocating for artistic freedom through public events, declarations of solidarity, artistic cooperation, and cultural policy engagement. Re:Create Europe builds on this shared commitment and translates it into long-term, practice-oriented collaboration.
The partner consortium consists of Arts Council Malta, Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Academy of Fine Arts and Design Bratislava, Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, National Academy of Arts Sofia, National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Society of Hungarian Authors, Villa Decius Association and Akademie der Künste (Berlin).
Re:Create Europe marks an important next phase in the Alliance’s work to defend the conditions under which free artistic expression, critical reflection, and cultural exchange remain possible in Europe.
Co-Funded by the European Union.
