Cultural catalyst: Warsaw empowers NGO’s for social change

The Purpose

In 2018, the City of Warsaw announced an open competition for NGOs to address social issues through culture. Its objective was to foster and develop a new kind of institution whose programmes are developed by social activists, organisers and creators affiliated with the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) sector.

The Challenge

Independent cultural organisations, communities and creators working across cultural and social agendas are at the heart of Warsaw’s cultural life. However, they often struggle to secure the space and resources to experiment, develop and carry out their activities. Most grant programmes for Non-Governmental Organisations provide support on a one-year basis. This can generate instability and uncertainty, and inhibit the longer-term impact of their work. This type of institution is developed from the ground up, rather than shaped by local government. And crucially, the programme provides a grant for support on a three-to-five-year basis.

The Solution

The programme provides a grant for support on a three-to-five-year basis. The City announced an open call, selecting projects that addressed major social needs. In two editions of the competition held in 2018 and 2019, the City granted funding to the following organisations as Social Institutions of Culture:

• The Komuna/Warszawa Culture Hub (The Komuna Warszawa Association)
• The Centre of Inclusive Art (The Teatr 21 Foundation)
• The Druga Strefa Theatre – The Social Institution of Culture (The Druga Strefa Association)

• The Theatre and Dance Centre in Warsaw (The Scena Współczesna Foundation)
• The Jasna Centre (The Stanisław Brzozowski Association).
• The Społeczna Scena Debiutów Theatre (The Teatr Konsekwentny Association)

All these institutions focus on a range of different activities. This includes cultural research, education in urgent social issues, and engaging people with disabilities through culture. Each organisation aims to work with people from all over the city and to co-create their cultural offer. The goal is to open up access to culture to new and often underrepresented groups.

A priority of the programme is to connect and facilitate cooperation between different elements of the cultural and social ecosystem. In doing so, the institutions can better serve the needs of different groups within the cultural sector and the wider community. For example, the Komuna/Warszawa Culture Hub focuses on supporting young creators and underground artists, helping them reach broader audiences. The Centre of Inclusive Art (Teatr 21) is a theatre co-created by artists with disabilities who raise awareness of the issues around perception and recognition of their work.

The Impact

In 2020, Teatr 21 received the prestigious Polityka’s Passport award for its innovative activities at the Centre. The three-to-five-year funding enabled the organisations to plan their activities on a longer-term basis. They were able to allocate 30% of the grant budget to core administrative and infrastructure costs, as well as to programme development.

Source: World Cities Culture Report 2022