Main points

• Cultural spaces contribute to anti-corruption work through distinctive capacities that traditional civil society organisations cannot provide. Through creative visualisation, neutral coalition-building, and bottom-up norm development, cultural initiatives address the deep-seated trust deficits that undermine traditional anti-corruption efforts in post-authoritarian contexts. Rather than relying on mobilisation, monitoring, and compliance-based messaging, cultural programming reframes integrity as reclaiming democratic agency, making it particularly effective for communities processing authoritarian trauma.
• Ukraine has already developed extensive cultural anti-corruption infrastructure that remains largely unrecognised by donors and policymakers. Theatre initiatives alone reach 580+ events across 150+ venues across Ukraine, while museums, community centres, and cultural platforms actively engage in democratic programming. However, major disconnects persist: most donor strategies supporting Ukraine’s anti-corruption work exclude cultural programming, and cultural practitioners rarely frame their work as contributing to anti-corruption goals.
• The current moment of intensive Ukrainian identity-building amplifies cultural spaces’ anti-corruption potential. Cultural work is central to Ukraine’s broader emancipatory state-building project, helping communities reconnect with suppressed heritage traditions while building civic identity. This “white heat” of cultural self-determination creates unprecedented opportunities for embedding democratic norms through practice rather than rules, particularly in mid-size cities and frontline areas where innovation exceeds that of major urban centres.
• Realising this potential requires adapted funding frameworks and cross-sectoral collaboration. Cultural approaches operate on different timelines than conventional anti-corruption interventions, requiring patient investment aligned with cultural development indicators rather than short-term deliverables. International donors should develop parallel funding streams for cultural programming while creating platforms for dialogue between cultural practitioners, anti-corruption organisations, and government officials to ensure complementary rather than competing strategies.
• Bridging the disconnect between cultural and anti-corruption communities requires systematic cross-sectoral collaboration platforms. Cultural activists struggle to communicate their anti-corruption relevance to government officials and donors, while anti-corruption practitioners overlook cultural approaches due to unfamiliarity with their mechanisms of change. Creating structured dialogue forums, joint project opportunities, and peer learning networks can help both communities understand how their work intersects and mutually reinforces broader democratisation goals without compromising the authenticity that makes cultural approaches effective.