Protecting cultural heritage in Ukraine

Since early March 2022, ALIPH has been mobilized to support cultural heritage and heritage professionals in Ukraine. On 7 March 2022, the Foundation adopted its Action Plan with an envelope of USD 5 million of its own funds, to which further contributions have been made by:

• The European Union (Foreign Policy Instrument) (EUR 4 million);
• Getty (USD 1 million);
• US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (US Department of State) (USD 645,000);
• Principality of Monaco (EUR 40,000).

Thanks to these partnerships, between March 2022 and March 2024, ALIPH has disbursed USD 6.8 million to support nearly 400 Ukrainian organizations in over 140 locations spanning all regions of Ukraine.

This funding falls under six pillars:

• Support to museums, libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions, to purchase storage equipment, packing materials, fire safety equipment, as well as power supplies, climate control systems, and materials to secure buildings. In the early days of the war, ALIPH financed and coordinated the transportation of hundreds of specialized wooden museum crates and other donated or purchased equipment with partners in Poland, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, and the United Kingdom.
• The creation or upgrade of a dozen "refuges": large storage areas to house and protect works and artifacts that bear witness to Ukraine's rich heritage.
• The creation of “heritage ambulances” with the National Research and Restoration Center of Ukraine. These vehicles carry emergency conservation equipment so that Ukrainian curators and conservators may travel through the country and intervene rapidly to monitor, protect, and restore works of art damaged by the war.
• Stabilization projects in Kharkiv and Odesa for historical buildings damaged by war.
• 3D documentation and photogrammetry of more than 40 monuments at risk across the country: these data will allow for their future conservation, if required.
• Direct support to heritage professionals who continue to fulfil their mission to protect heritage in Ukraine.

The priorities under the ALIPH Ukraine Action Plan focus especially on stabilization, emergency actions (such as evacuations of collections or reinforcement of damaged institutional and heritage buildings), and the protection of unique and fragile heritage collections.

For further information on the ALIPH Ukraine Action Plan, or to submit a project proposal, please reach out to contact@aliph-foundation.org, grants@aliph-foundation.org, or via the ALIPH grant platform.