Discover the five winners of the European Award Art Explora – Académie des beaux-arts
Winner Category 1: Cultural organizations with an annual budget of up to €500,000
Golden Age – Performing Art Education for inmates and children, Teatringestazione, Italy
Winner Category 2: Cultural organizations with an annual budget between €500,000 and €2 million
Turning the Tide, Thames Festival Trust, United Kingdom
Winner Category 3: Cultural organizations with an annual budget of over €2 million
Cinemini Europe: Including All, Eye Filmmuseum, Netherlands
Audience Choice Award
KomshiLOOK Zhelezara: A neighborhood in three Acts, KomshiLOOK Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Special Jury Award
ALASKA: a play about the pursuit of happiness in an abusive world, Mariupol Theatre of Ukraine in, Exile, Ukraine
Turning the Tide
The project
“Turning the Tide” is a cultural project led by artist Catherine Yass, Turner Prize nominee, aimed at increasing the visibility of young disabled creatives in public spaces. It involves the creation of a film installation projected over four nights in September 2026 onto the columns of the disused Blackfriars railway bridge, in front of approximately 10,000 spectators. The artistic development is led by disabled people, highlighting the excellence of deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent artists. A wide-ranging programme of visual arts workshops—from June 2026 to March 2027—will involve children, young people, and adults with disabilities. Finally, a month-long exhibition along the Thames will showcase their work and is expected to attract 390,000 visitors.
The organisation
Thames Festival Trust is a charitable organisation dedicated to making the Thames a source of artistic inspiration, community cohesion, and heritage appreciation. Its vision is to see rivers as living “arteries” where art, nature, history, and culture converge, accessible to all. The Trust organises events, educational programmes, and heritage projects that highlight the river as a driver of creativity. Its multidisciplinary approach combines visual arts, performance, sport, ecology, and collective memory while supporting emerging artists. By collaborating with local communities, international artists, and environmental organisations, it creates experiences that reveal the Thames’ essential role in London’s urban life.
The Art Explora European Award will make it possible to realise Turning the Tide, a major cultural engagement project centring and making visible disabled people. The award will allow us to project a video installation of disabled young performers over the River Thames in an iconic London riverside location, seen by hundreds of people. We will also develop workshops with disability organisations including hospitals and youth centres, creating artworks that will be part of a free outdoor exhibition, and make an artwork film capturing the creative process and exploring disabled representation.Catherine Yass, Artist and project lead for “Turning the Tide”
Support our Work
Without the support of funders, partners and people like yourself, we wouldn’t be able to deliver our diverse programme of projects and events along the Thames and across the world.