A total of 93 projects from different parts of the Trenčín Region responded to the grant call Europe to the Region, announced in March by the Creative Institute Trenčín. In the end, the selection committee supported 28 of the most interesting initiatives that show how culture can connect local communities with European values and current social issues. The successful projects will bring new stories, experiences and collaborations in the coming months – from art in public spaces to community activities in small villages.
Culture as a tool for connecting the region and Europe
The Europe ti the Region grant call is the second grant programme within the European Capital of Culture Trenčín 2026 project, this time with an extended impact on the entire Trenčín Self-Governing Region. Unlike the pilot Europe to the City call, which focused exclusively on the city of Trenčín, the current call offered support to cultural and creative projects across the whole region.
“We are delighted to see such a high level of interest in the call – the 93 projects submitted show that there is huge potential and appetite in the region to create cultural initiatives that have a European dimension. The quality of the applications was extremely high and the selection of the best ones was not easy,” said Stanislav Krajči, Director of the Creative Institute Trenčín
Genre diversity of supported projects
The 28 initiatives supported include a wide range of projects across different artistic genres, community formats and target groups. The Europe to the Region call showed that culture in the Trenčín Region takes many forms – from film art to community activities to revitalising industrial heritage. The supported projects are an example of this diversity:
The HAPPYMINOR Festival of National Minorities in Považská Bystrica, which for the seventh year brings the presentation of the culture of members of various national minorities (Czech, Moravian, Croatian, Polish, German, Roma, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian) in the form of live art, music and dance.
CINEDU 2025 – a film festival for children and youth in Nové Město nad Váhom, which has long been dedicated to children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and brings quality audiovisual experiences to viewers with special needs.
Fabrika umenia – Factory Shifts and the Factors Festival, in which the former Bat’a factory building in Partizánske is transformed into a lively cultural and community centre. The project combines volunteer brigades with artistic events and creates a new space for community meetings and independent culture.
These projects are proof that the Call for Proposals has reached out to actors with diverse visions, all with the common goal of bringing culture closer to the people and creating links between the region and Europe.
Challenge as an opportunity for the region
The Europe to the Region grant scheme was exclusively for non-established organisations active in the cultural and creative sectors. The projects could be implemented anywhere within the region except the territory of the city of Trenčín, as the previous call was directly targeted at the city of Trenčín.
“Our goal is to make culture a natural part of life in the whole region, not just in the bigger cities. Europe is showing the country that every municipality, every community can be a carrier of a strong cultural story,” adds Krajči.
Trenčín 2026 is financially supported by the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The project partner is the European Union.
