Germany's €10M fund revives small-town culture with bold community projects
A new federal initiative is boosting cultural projects in smaller towns across Germany. The 'Local – Program for Culture and Civic Engagement' will fund up to 40 community-focused schemes over the next seven years. Organisers hope the programme will strengthen ties between artists, residents, and local groups in often overlooked areas. The Federal Cultural Foundation has allocated €10 million to the programme, which runs until 2031. Each selected project will receive between €200,000 and €240,000 in funding. The money targets towns and municipalities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, with 13 locations already involved.
The initiative encourages long-term, unconventional partnerships between cultural organisers and community groups. Regions taking part include Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg. Support for the projects comes from the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the European Cultural Foundation. Both will offer advisory services and workshops to help participants develop their ideas. The programme specifically backs organisers who create projects that bring people together through culture.
The funding will enable small-town cultural organisers to launch ambitious, community-driven work. With grants spread across nine federal states, the programme aims to build lasting connections between local groups and creative practitioners. Successful projects will receive financial and professional support until the end of the decade.
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