On 22 April, RESEO was delighted to host representatives from FEDORA, Arts Explora and the Moleskine Foundation for the webinar Funding the Arts: Prizes and Foundations. During the session, speakers shared practical insights into the kinds of projects they support, who can apply and what makes an application stand out. Discover the four initiatives below.
1. YAMawards: RESEO Prize for Best Opera / Best Participatory Project
Awarded as part of the YAMAwards in partnership with Jeunesses Musicales International, the RESEO Best Opera Prize recognises completed opera and music-theatre productions created for audiences aged 0–18. Productions are assessed by a dedicated jury of opera professionals. Eligible productions include new opera works based upon new librettos (adaptations of existing stories are accepted) and new compositions. The work must demonstrate strong artistic quality and have a clear focus on children, young people and/or families.
The Best Participatory Project prize, also part of the YAM Awards, recognises projects where participation is central to the artistic experience. Unlike categories focused primarily on the final performance, this prize also takes the creative process into account: how participants are involved, how their contributions shape the work, and how participation creates meaningful transformation for young audiences.
Prize: €1,000
Best suited for: Finished work, touring productions and organisations wanting to increase visibility within the young audiences sector.
Application tip: Apply with a completed production and help the jury understand the full artistic experience of the work, including its music, dramaturgy, narrative and visual world. For participatory projects, make sure the process is visible too: who was involved, how they contributed, and how participation shaped the final outcome.
“Winning the Best Opera Prize brought us valuable recognition and helped open doors. It allowed us to say to artistic directors: here is a prize that recognises the quality of our work — will you listen to us? For a young collective, that kind of visibility and access to a wider professional network can make a real difference.”
Hélène Bracke, RAAK Collectief, winner of the 2025 Best Opera Prize
More info: www.yamawards.org
2. FEDORA Education Prize
The FEDORA Education Prize supports innovative education projects in opera and dance, especially those with a strong social impact. Unlike the YAMawards, the FEDORA Prize supports projects that are still in development or existing programmes that need funding to scale or deepen their impact. Applicants are assessed on the ambition of the project, the quality of the participatory process, the choice of participants or communities, the potential for social integration, and the project’s future beyond the funded period. An artistic outcome or showcase is also expected, although this does not necessarily need to take the form of a traditional stage performance. For the 2026 application cycle, projects should be planned for the period between summer 2027 and December 2028.
Prize: €50,000
Best suited for: Projects in development or seeking to expand, co-creation programmes, training initiatives, and socially engaged opera or dance projects.
Application tip: “The FEDORA application process can be demanding, but it can also help you clarify and strengthen your project. You have to produce a short project video and think carefully about how the work is presented. Even without winning, the process can help you move your project “a step further” by helping clarify its artistic and organisational logic.”
Sarah Théry, Collectif MEUTE, 2023 FEDORA Education Prize winner
“Winning the FEDORA Education Prize helped us continue developing this cultural, political and human exchange between us, the dancers, the platforms and the communities we met along the way. FEDORA helped us bring this phase of the project to the best possible conclusion.”
Rosada Letizia Zangri
Educational Coordinator, ECO Compagnie, 2025 FEDORA Education Prize winner
More info: www.fedora-platform.com
3. Art Explora – Académie des beaux-arts European Award
The Art Explora – Académie des beaux-arts European Award supports cultural organisations creating innovative projects that build new relationships between arts and audiences. The award is open to non-profit cultural organisations across Europe and across art forms, including museums, theatres, opera houses, associations and multidisciplinary organisations. Projects can be new or already existing, but if the project already exists, applicants should explain what new dimension the funding would allow them to develop. A key focus of the award is audience engagement. Art Explora looks for projects that are innovative, participatory, replicable, partnership-driven and able to demonstrate impact.
Prize: Three awards worth €30,000, €40,000, or €50,000
Best suited for: Audience development projects, participatory cultural programmes, cross-sector partnerships, scalable engagement models, and projects that could inspire other organisations.
Application tip: Show how your project could be shared, adapted or replicated. Art Explora is interested not only in what you will do, but also in how your approach could inspire wider change across the cultural sector. Applicants are encouraged to use the award’s selection criteria as a framework for building their application.
More info: www.artexplora.org
4. Creativity Pioneers Fund
The Creativity Pioneers Fund, launched by the Moleskine Foundation, supports international creative and cultural organisations that use creativity to drive social change. Unlike many funding opportunities, this fund does not ask applicants to present a single project: organisations apply as a whole. The funding is unrestricted, meaning it can support structural needs, ongoing programmes, new ideas, operational costs or other priorities identified by the organisation itself. This approach is rooted in trust-based philanthropy.
Beyond the initial microgrant, selected organisations become part of a wider ecosystem, with opportunities for peer exchange, mentoring, learning, gatherings and additional funding.
Prize: €5000 unrestricted microgrant
Best suited for: Grassroots organisations, creative social impact initiatives, community-based cultural organisations, and organisations seeking flexible support rather than project-specific funding.
Application tip: The fund prioritises organisations that are “bold, intersectional and deeply connected with their communities.” Applicants should make clear who they work with, how they are embedded in their context, and why their approach matters to their communities. .
“One of the most interesting things for us was discovering so many innovative practices around social innovation through arts and creativity. As an organisation focused on performing arts and opera, it was very valuable to encounter other approaches and reflect more deeply on our own practice, not only in a European context, but globally. That experience helped us begin to rethink our role in our own territory.”
Vania Cauzillo, Compagnia Teatrale l’Albero, 2025 Creativity Pioneers Fund grantee
More info: www.creativitypioneersfund.org
