Open Call: Museum Future Grant Program
RIBBON International, in collaboration with Mystetskyi Arsenal and Art Arsenal Community NGO, announces the launch of Museum Futures, a major new grant program supporting Ukrainian art museums and institutions working to preserve and connect visual art collections with diverse audiences.
The Museum Futures grant program is designed to help museum teams confront the challenges posed by Russia’s war in Ukraine. In particular, we aim to provide resources to teams that continue to research art museum collections, develop programs for diverse audiences, build relationships with professional or local communities, and support artists.
RIBBON International is allocating to this initiative of supporting museums $150,000 in 2026.
Focus and objectives of the Museum Futures grant program:
- To support creativity, innovation, and professional growth through grants for concept development and content creation aimed at presenting and exhibiting collections — in digital formats, print, and live exhibitions, both in Ukraine and internationally;
- To strengthen the Ukrainian museum community by encouraging collaboration and exchange — supporting projects designed to achieve tangible results that can be shared and applied by other institutions (for example, research, models, tools, or new services that can be adopted, adapted, and scaled by others);
- To promote cooperation among institutions working with cultural heritage in Ukraine and abroad;
- To support transformative museum initiatives focused on developing and implementing trauma-informed approaches.
The open call is open to:
- Art museums from all regions of Ukraine;
- Non-governmental organizations that work closely with art museums and/or support their activities;
- Other museums, archives, and cultural institutions that hold significant visual art collections or present contemporary visual art
- (painting, graphics, photography and film, media art);
Please note that the applicant institution must be officially registered in Ukraine and recognized as a legal entity under Ukrainian law.
Grant amount:
From USD 8,000 to 15,000.
Key milestones:
- Announcement of the open competition: November 6, 2025
- Deadline for submission of applications: November 30, 2025
- Announcement of competition results: December 22, 2025
- Project implementation period: February–August 2026
- Reporting period: September–October 2026
The grant program will be accompanied by educational and networking events for its participants, organized by Mystetskyi Arsenal within the context of its exhibition projects throughout 2026.
Types of supported activities:
Proposed projects may involve research and presentation of visual art collections in museums; building connections between museums and other cultural institutions in Ukraine and abroad; programming and supporting museum spaces or other sites of activity (for example, in cases of forced relocation of a museum or temporary unavailability of its premises).
Activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Conducting curatorial or academic research on a museum’s collection and its connections with other collections in Ukraine and abroad;
Preparing new exhibitions or programming other events related to the museum and its collection; - Creating new content related to museum collections or visual art archives—online projects, publications, audio guides, educational initiatives, new or improved audience services, etc.;
- Organizing research and art residencies within museums, collaborating with educational initiatives and institutions, artists, and interdisciplinary studios.
Expected outcomes:
Supported projects should contribute to expanding opportunities for the development of Ukrainian museums, fostering communities and networks of support around them, encouraging the professional and creative growth of their teams, presenting curatorial research and new ways of engaging with their visual art collections, and strengthening their connection with audiences.
Program organizers:
RIBBON International is a non-profit platform that supports historical and contemporary Ukrainian art and culture through exhibitions, individual art projects, public programs, and grants. The goal of RIBBON International is to support the Ukrainian cultural and artistic heritage that is under threat of extinction, as well as to assist artists, cultural producers, contemporary practitioners and institutions throughout Ukraine in their struggle for cultural autonomy.
Mystetskyi Arsenal is a leading Ukrainian cultural institution that brings together various arts and cultural practices — from contemporary art to literature and museum work. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Mystetskyi Arsenal has concentrated its efforts on several key priorities: protecting, preserving, and communicating Ukrainian cultural heritage; amplifying the Ukrainian voice on the international stage; fostering reflection on the human and societal condition in times of war; and providing a space for shared experience, resilience, and overcoming the consequences of war in Ukraine.
Art Arsenal Community is a public organization founded by the staff members of Mystetskyi Arsenal in April 2022 to support the development of Mystetskyi Arsenal, the Ukrainian cultural sector as a whole, and its individual and institutional actors. Since 2024, Art Arsenal Community has been a partner of the program “Room for Heritage”, providing sub-grants and mentoring support to organizations in the cultural sector.
Jury Members:
- Natalia Dziubenko, Head of the Department of Applied Museology at the State Natural History Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
- Bozhena Pelenska, Program and Operations Director at Insha Osvita
- Anna Pohribna, Deputy Director for Programs at Mystetskyi Arsenal
- Iryna Bilan, Head of Art Arsenal Community NGO
- Olga Zhuk, curator, grant program manager at RIBBON International
A detailed description of the program and application documents are available at the link.
If you wish to apply for the grant program or have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Please include “Museum Futures_Your Institution’s Name_Your Project Title” in the email subject line so that we can review your inquiry as quickly as possible.
Applications are accepted until 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2025.