The Fondation Sommer is a private grant-making foundation, established under Luxembourg law, with official charitable status. Created in 2016 by Pierre Brahms and governed by the articles and law of the 21st April, 1928, the foundation’s purpose is to support the “empowerment” of children and young people in Luxembourg, through the arts and culture.
Appels à projets
By means of three calls for projects, the Sommer Foundation aims to support several participatory projects that will use culture and the arts as tools for free self-expression, and that will translate its goal of empowering people into concrete activities involving children and young people, thereby having a positive impact on our society.
The next deadlines for sending the applications are:
- October 8, 2024 (jury decision: October 22, 2024)
- February 18, 2025 (jury decision: March 20, 2025)
- May 20, 2025 (jury decision: June 19, 2025)
- September 30, 2025 (jury decision: October 30, 2025)
Prior to submitting your application, do not hesitate to contact us to discuss the project and check its eligibility.
Call1 for projects: Cultural projects in pairs
Call for projects for:
- cultural and educational structures
-
cultural structures and active structures for citizenship, integration and social action
for the execution of a joint project.
Call2 for projects: Educational projects
Call for projects for artists, cultural structures and active structures for citizenship, integration and social action, for the development of educational activities as part of an artistic or cultural project.
Call3 for projects: Joint intercultural projects
Call for projects for cultural initiatives promoting intercultural exchange in Luxembourg (projects submitted in teams).
Projects supported
Through the projects that it supports, the Sommer Foundation aims to stimulate the minds of children and youngsters and make them more inquisitive so that they can participate in our society through the medium of culture and the arts. It encourages the creation of new forms of cooperation between partners from different communities and with different viewpoints, so that the people and cultures in Luxembourg may understand each other better.
Stell Dir vor, es wäre...
As part of weekly dance classes, two dance ensembles from Trisomie 21 asbl Luxembourg, in collaboration with dance educator Sandra Beck, are developing a multidisciplinary performance for World Down Syndrome Day in 2025.
This performance will reflect a journey through shared images and “portraits” of the various dancers, emerging from a participatory process. During a painting workshop, the participants will create images and paintings that represent how they see themselves or how they would like to see themselves. These artworks will then be brought to life through dance and presented as part of the performance, accompanied by original music and sound recordings in which the dancers share something about themselves.
The team will ensure that the wishes of each individual are respected, and each dancer will be supported according to their abilities, so that everyone has the opportunity to express something about themselves (through movement) in the way they choose.
Youth, Agents of Change
Throughout the year 2024, Unity Foundation offers dynamic workshops for young people aged 11 and over in high schools in Luxembourg, as well as for vulnerable youth, their teachers, and educators.
The workshops focus on the participants’ well-being, group cohesion, and their engagement in social progress. The activities include screenings of inspiring short films, artistic projects, collaborative games, and service projects.
These workshops aim to develop essential qualities such as empathy, resilience, collaboration, creativity, and self-confidence. Through various artistic activities (theater, dance, drawing, singing), participants explore their passions and acquire skills to become engaged actors of social change.
D’Kachmaschinn, une cuisine mobile - Atelier de construction
This construction workshop, designed for young people aged 9 to 15, aims to introduce participants to careers in architecture, design, and craftsmanship through the creation of a mobile kitchen module. It will provide an opportunity to become familiar with the tools of the architect (drawing, modeling, etc.) and to understand the various stages of a project from conception to completion. Additionally, it will address contemporary themes related to the production of our built environment such as resource scarcity, circular economy, and reuse.
Le Chemin
The “Le Chemin” project is an innovative artistic and cultural initiative led by the Reidener Jugendtreff in collaboration with various local partners, including centers for migrants and refugees. The main goal of this project is to foster personal expression and creativity among young people through musical and artistic creation.
The project, which follows the success of the “RE-bondir” initiative, will unfold in two main phases. The first phase, starting in March 2024, will focus on creating a collective album featuring 12 to 15 musical tracks. Young participants will have the opportunity to express themselves through various musical styles, including instruments from different cultures, and develop their skills in writing and composition. Workshops on body expression, dance, and improvisational theater will also be offered to enhance the stage experience.
La danse calligraphiée de l'alphabet
Résidence d’artiste en milieu scolaire par la Compagnie Jucam.
Hä ?!… oder wat gelift ?
This project carefully examines respect for good manners and courtesy among young adolescents. Noting a lack of politeness among its students, Lycée Nic-Biever / Annexe Alliance launched the project “Hä?!… oder wat gelift?” with the objective of re-teaching the simple rules of etiquette through various workshops and activities. These activities will help young people become aware of basic forms of respect, such as saying “hello” and “please,” and will prepare them for adult life.
The project covers different areas, including art and writing, as well as music and the creation of short videos related to the theme. This is done in close collaboration with various artists and organizations, such as the municipality of Dudelange and the Jugendhaus Dudelange.
The project involves all students and teachers at the Alliance site of Lycée Nic-Biever, with each class working on a different aspect depending on their age and needs.
What is Fashion?
With this project, following the “Lux is Fashion” project also supported by the Fondation Sommer, Sarvenaz Kouchesfahani aimed to continue her exploration of different aspects of the fashion world with young people, while this time delving deeper into the publishing universe. By answering the question “What is Fashion,” the project leader, in collaboration with these aspiring designers, stylists, artists, and writers, created an online magazine highlighting the evolution of fashion in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Through bi-monthly workshops, Sarvenaz Kouchesfahani engaged the young participants in a collaborative effort that introduced them to editorial creation and encouraged their critical thinking. With this project, Sarvenaz Kouchesfahani aimed to enable young people to enhance their creative and artistic confidence while deepening their knowledge of the fashion industry. The magazine was unveiled during a vernissage on June 26, 2024, at the Lycée Technique pour Professions Éducatives et Sociales in Mersch.
Au Rythme des Couleurs
This project enabled eight teenage girls from the 5th and 6th grades of the Lycée Classique de Diekirch to take their first steps in dance and embark on creating a collaborative performance. Gathering once a week since the start of the 2023/2024 school year, the students participated in workshops to determine the theme of the piece. These sessions sparked numerous discussions and exchanges about the motivations and concerns of today’s teenagers. The chosen theme – emotions – was then translated into a choreography entirely created by the students, under the nurturing guidance and in collaboration with the dancer-choreographer Nathalie Moyen. On the school stage, the eight girls presented their performance, inviting the audience on a journey into the heart of the soul’s color palette.
Preventing violence and harassment at school
The parents’ representatives from the Mersch primary school will be organising a project for the 2023-2024 school year on the subject of preventing violence and harassment at school.
This is an extra-curricular project aimed at parents and children attending the Mersch primary school.