Calls for projects

Tiers-lieux culturels II

Photo of the interior of the VeWa building (formerly the vestiaire-wagonnage) in Dudelange. This former train wagon repair workshop has been transformed into a cultural third place.

©Œuvre Nationale

Œuvre seeks to contribute to the development of cultural projects – whether permanent or temporary – which play a role in a collective dynamic aiming to anchor culture locally and which, in the form of collaborative ecosystems, recapture industrial wastelands, abandoned spaces or city centres.

Examples show that cultural third places integrate multiple realities. These "hybrid’ third places" are often drivers of socio-cultural, artistic, social, environmental, economic, democratic, civic, organisational, regional or urban transition. Some are collaborative laboratories of creation whose diverse stakeholders embody culture in all its forms and change how the neighbourhood that surrounds them lives.


In this way, they cultivate a blend of genres, activities and audiences. These socially innovative spaces of dissemination – which are unusual and sometimes hidden – host young artists, artists in residence, sophisticated and marginalised audiences alike, associations, cultural and creative undertakings, resource centres, restaurants, cultural activities, crèches, community garages, fab labs, home-care services or shared workshops.


They take the form of alternative, hybrid spaces, where multiple interests co-exist, and can serve as platforms for research, sustainable development, collaborative economy, knowledge sharing, shared governance and co-creation. Through the interaction of different universes, cultural third places foster new social interactions and become open and welcoming spaces of expression and chance meetings that inspire people and make them want to come back.

The call for projects is open to non-profit legal entities, private individuals, any informal group and also any local community that wishes to incorporate as a non-profit legal entity.

The selected projects will encourage social intermingling, will be geared towards the general public as well as to alternative stakeholders, and will ensure that local people are included.

The project must be carried out in Luxembourg.

Call for projects issued: 15 July 2021

Œuvre plans to support three projects. The projects submitted will be assessed by a jury on a rolling basis, and the results will be announced after each meeting of the jury. After three projects are selected, the call for projects will be closed.

Financial support

Three projects in the amount of €400,000 to be disbursed over three years:

  • year 1: the design of the project must be completed and the partners identified
  • year 2: the project is implemented
  • year 3: the project is operating fully

All applications will be analyzed and evaluated by a jury composed of members from the Culture Committee, members from the cultural third place monitoring committee supported by the Œuvre and Esch2022, and independent experts.

Evaluations will be conducted based on an assessment grid that takes into account the objectives and criteria outlined below. The jury has full authority in its decision-making, which does not need to be justified.

In the selection process, the jury will focus on the following criteria:


General principles

  • Principle of prohibition of double funding
  • Non-profit rule

Selection Criteria

  • Place of "working together", co-creation or co-working
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Originality and creativity
  • Active participation of diverse audiences
  • Local presence
  • Social innovation
  • Diversity of stakeholders
  • Added value in terms of social cohesion and solidarity
  • Sustainable development

  • General interest and impartiality
  • The project is of general interest, impartial, apolitical and non-denominational.
  • Clearly identified budget and specific description of how the expected financial resources will be allocated.
  • Feasibility: The project is realistic. It is cost-effective.
  • Professionalism and quality
  • Longevity
  • Despite its temporary nature, the project aims to create a process of positive change or lasting impact.

Applications can be submitted throughout the year. To submit an application, log in to our project submission platform. This platform allows you to create a user account with which you can submit applications, save forms in progress, and view previously submitted applications.

Before you can access the full form, you need to complete an introductory form in which you will specify the type of aid you would like to request. This form allows you to briefly present your project and serves the purpose of validating the eligibility criteria.

The Œuvre will validate the eligibility criteria, and if the response is favorable, access to the full form will be unlocked. Only completed forms will be processed.

Please note: the forms are in French but can also be completed in Luxembourgish, German, or English.

Applying for funding

Project Submission Platform

Members of the jury for the "Cultural Third Places II" call for projects.

Anouk Wies

  • Jury Chair, Member of Œuvre's Board of Directors

Giny Laroche

  • Partner at The ImpactLab, Coach

Philippe Nathan

  • Architect, Founding Partner 2001, Visiting Professor at TU Kaiserslautern

Sergio Roberto Gratteri

  • Musicologist, Arts Educator, and Cultural Entrepreneur

Céline Schall

  • Research and Training Officer at the Culture Department of the City of Esch

Edouard Meier

  • Managing Director of pali pali, an accelerator of cultural, social and solidarity projects

Norry Schneider

  • Coordinator, Luxembourg Platform for Transition, CELL

Ralph Waltmans

  • Director of Cultural Affairs, City of Esch

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