The Art of Resilience and Resistance: Empowering artists and cultural professionals tackling new challenges in Europe

forthcoming

The project Re:Create Europe responds to a cultural landscape under pressure: across Europe, artistic freedom is increasingly threatened by nationalism, war and aggression, ecological collapse, and economic austerity. Emerging artists and cultural professionals face growing instability, censorship, and burnout. Led by supporters and members of the European Alliance of Academies (EAoA), the transnational large-scale cooperation project unites ten experienced institutions across Europe. Their strong history of collaboration, diverse profiles, and regional expertise ensure broad outreach, meaningful inclusion and high-quality implementation. This consortium structure fosters a robust and innovative framework for transnational cultural resilience. The project empowers emerging artists and cultural professionals from all sectors through a combination of mobility programmes, blended workshops, onsite residencies, and international conferences. A core innovation is a public digital map that documents threats to artistic freedom and shares effective resilience strategies. Artistic methods are used not just for expression but as tools of research, exchange and advocacy. The modular project design enables horizontal knowledge exchange while translating lived experience into policy recommendations for artists, institutions and decision-makers. Re:Create Europe transforms crisis into collective resistance. In an increasingly unstable context the ability to adapt, persist, and continue creating is essential for the future of free artistic expression. By fostering cross-border solidarity, shared learning, and long-term cooperation, Re:Create Europe creates a sustainable framework that enables creativity to flourish even in times of crisis. It equips the next generation of cultural professionals with the tools, networks, and strategies they need not only to survive, but to shape Europe’s cultural future with confidence and care.