Artistic Debuts

Guidelines for Applicants

About the Artistic Debuts Call 

The “Artistic Debuts” call seeks to help graduates of arts education institutions establish themselves as artists and cultural professionals, develop their creative potential, and build sustainable cooperation with cultural institutions. The call also supports educational institutions that provide training in the fields of culture and the arts—including arts universities and academies, universities of culture and the arts, and other higher education institutions offering relevant study programmes—as well as providers of non-formal arts education, such as creative studios, art schools and workshops, and cultural and educational centres. By strengthening collaboration between emerging artists and educational and cultural institutions, the call contributes to creating favourable conditions for the professional development of early-career artists and their successful integration into Ukraine’s cultural sector.

Programme Priorities:

Digital Transformation: leveraging digital technologies for the creation, distribution, and promotion of cultural products; developing the digital competencies of artists and cultural practitioners; expanding access to cultural experiences through digital solutions; and integrating European best practices in digitisation.

Sustainable Development and Environmental Responsibility: minimising the environmental footprint of projects, promoting sustainable practices within the cultural sector, and embedding sustainability principles into the core of cultural products.

Inclusion and Gender Equality: engaging vulnerable and underrepresented groups, ensuring the accessibility of cultural products, and fostering equal opportunities across all project stages, etc.

The Artistic Debuts call priorities

• Supporting the creative work of artists through the implementation of projects that demonstrate artistic and social value
• Providing opportunities for the professional development of artists working in Ukraine, with particular attention to internally displaced persons, veterans, persons with disabilities, and individuals affected by the war.
• Facilitating the integration of graduates of arts education institutions into the professional cultural sector, supporting their development through access to resources, mentorship, and opportunities to publicly present their work
• Supporting experimental approaches, new forms of artistic expressions, cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary projects, as well as the creation of digital and audiovisual cultural products
• Fostering partnerships between young artists and cultural institutions, development of professional networks, and the expansion of opportunities for national and international presentation

Total budget of the Call (LOT): UAH 18 000 000* (350 000 €)**

Minimum grant amount: UAH  250 000 (5 000 €)

Maximum grant amount:  UAH 715 000 (14 000 €)

Within this Call (LOT), the following sectors of culture and creative industries are supported:

• audio art;
• visual art;
• cultural heritage;
• cultural and creative industries (cross-sectoral projects);
• literature;
• performing and scenic arts.

Eligible cultural products: 

• audio works (podcasts, audiobooks, music albums, audio plays, sound installations, etc.); 
• audiovisual works (feature films, documentaries, video essays, video art, animated films, TV series, web series, music videos, multimedia projects, etc.)
• visual art works (exhibitions, art installations, digital art, photography projects, illustrations, art objects, etc.);
• сultural heritage products (digital collections, documentation, research, and educational products for the study, preservation, restoration, and promotion of cultural heritage, folk arts and crafts, traditional crafts and techniques, etc.);
• cultural and creative industry products, including cross-sectoral projects (digital platforms, mobile applications, interactive cultural products, VR/AR solutions, cultural startups, multimedia services, contemporary design products, decorative and applied art objects, fashion collections, accessories, interior and everyday items, designer ceramics, art glass, wood and metal crafts, textile products, as well as other products based on folk arts and crafts, traditional techniques, and other elements of cultural heritage, etc.);
• literary works (e-books, comics, graphic novels, digital literary projects, etc)**
• performing and stage arts products (theatrical performances, live performances, concerts, operas, ballet productions, dance performances, circus shows, interdisciplinary stage projects, etc.)

Output Requirements: For this call (LOT), cultural products must be created with the direct involvement of young artists as performers, authors, co-authors, creative team members, or other key participants in its creation and implementation process. Furthermore, the product must be developed in partnership with organisations registered in EU member states.

Project ‘Cultural Horizons’ is the result of a collaboration between the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (Ukraine) and Cultural Vistas gGmbH (Germany). Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

* Please note that the programme budget in UAH may be adjusted upwards or downwards depending on changes in the average monthly accounting exchange rates published on the European Commission’s website (InforEuro), calculated on the date of the decision to open negotiating procedures for projects within the respective call's budget.

**Please note! The Ukrainian Cultural Foundation does not fund publishing activities as a standalone area. Consequently, the printing of book products cannot be considered the primary cultural product of a project. The Foundation does not fund the publication or republication of books, except for publications in the field of culture and creative industries, as well as inclusive publications that ensure equal access to information through adapted formats (including Braille, tactile, and combined publications).