About us
We are Trans Europe Halles, we are a network, we are soulmates, we are 162, we are creatives, we are alternative, we are independent, we are community-driven, we are from everywhere, we are artists, we are thinkers, we are urbanists, we are ecologists, we are builders, doers and dreamers, we are a force of transformation, we are sharers, we are caretakers, we are learners and educators, we are strategists, we are activists, we are in solidarity, we are a family.
Join us!
The long and short of it
We are an international NGO with our headquarters in Lund, Sweden. A member-led force for change driven by a bottom-up, activist spirit that challenges conventions. We have been at the forefront of repurposing abandoned buildings for arts, culture and activism since 1983.
Rooted in repurposed spaces across the world, our members recognize and embrace the untapped potential of urban spaces. In collaboration with local communities, they breathe life and creativity into neglected places, transforming them into vibrant hubs.
They are the trailblazers, the movers and shakers, the catalysts of change—daring visionaries who champion an open society where every citizen finds their place. They ignite a fresh wave of possibility, fighting to ensure that all belong in this dynamic transformation.
Trans Europe Halles is a network for cultural activists. A place of learning and exchange. A Platform to campaign, advocate and raise awareness. An accumulator of collective knowledge and interdisciplinary expertise in fields such as cultural production, advocacy, city planning, sustainable architecture and circular design, energy efficiency, community engagement, fundraising, creative industries, policy, social innovation.
We generate connections that stimulate citizen independent initiatives. our network is a force of regeneration for neighbourhoods, communities, cities and regions.
We act as a counterweight against displacement, abandonment, gentrification, segregation and other urban plagues. We stand up for what we believe to be the very foundation of democracy: citizen engagement, decolonization, intercultural dialogue and freedom of expression.
Inward activities (member-focused)
- Creating connections and networking
- Training, learning and resource sharing
- Communication and promotion
- Emergency mobilization and support
- Endorsement
Outward activities
- Advocacy and activism
- Interdisciplinary consultancy
- International cooperation
- Fundraising
Trans Europe Halles (TEH) was born in March 1983 when Philippe Grombeer was involved in setting up an arts centre in the former covered market in Brussels – Halles de Schaerbeek. He reached out to a few similar initiatives in Europe for help and six other cultural pioneers – Huset (Copenhagen, Denmark); Kultur Fabrik (Koblenz, Germany); Melkweg (Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Ny Scen (Gothenburg, Sweden); Pali Kao (Paris, France); and Rote Fabrik (Zürich, Switzerland) – answered his call. They all met together in Brussels that year.
Together they embarked on a journey that hasn’t always been easy. Europe was going through a lot of changes at the time: the fall of the Berlin Wall, the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, the expansion of the EU. These changes left abandoned sites all over Europe. We took them over. We revived them and used them for artistic experimentation.
Back then our initiatives were often greeted with derision by governmental ministers and local and regional authorities. Yet, we didn’t give up. We fought side by side for our beliefs. Together we reclaimed more than 110 spaces in Europe. By the end of the twentieth century, the value of these neglected spaces had increased exponentially.
Today, we are an established European cultural network. Our potential has been recognised by the Creative Europe Programme, which has awarded us with a three-year network grant for the period of 2022-2024. Called “The Network Project” (TNP), this grant supports our core activities and has allowed us to restructure and consolidate our network, to decentralise certain of our activities to our hubs, who can answer more closely to the needs of our members where they are located, to equip them with new creative tools to face the challenges of today.
Over the last decades, we have led or joined a number of large scale international cooperation projects: Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities (2018); DISCE – Developing Inclusive and Sustainable Creative Economies (2019), Rebuilding to last (2022), The Cultural Transformation Movement Project (2023), ZMINA/Rebuilding! (2023), Good Enough Transformation (2024). These projects have raised our profile and established our position as a reference point for the sector.
What is next? We will continue expanding and growing stronger as a network. And we will work harder than ever to contribute to a more democratic, inclusive and pluralistic Europe.
We are a community with transparent, human-centred and democratic governance.
We make all our decisions together during our biannual meetings, we hold a formal General Assembly where we approve the budget, final accounts, network strategy or elect a Executive Committee. Every member has one vote, regardless of the size of the centre.
Our elected Executive Committee is our governing and policy-making body. It consists of a minimum of five and a maximum of eight people.
Our Ambassadors worked hard to make sure we survive and develop as a network. Today they are our advocates who promote us and our values to the outside world and inspire our members.
They are:
- Annette Wolfsberger, The Netherlands
- Antti Manninen, Finland
- Birgitta Persson, Sweden
- Cor Schlösser, The Netherlands
- Emma Ernsth, Belgium
- Erik Backer, The Netherlands
- Fazette Bordage, France
- Katarina Zivanovic, Serbia
- Mieke Renders, Belgium/Sweden
- Pekka Timonen, Finland
- Sabina Schebrak, Austria
- Sandrine Crisostomo, Portugal
- Sandy Fitzgerald, Ireland
- Sigrid Niemer, Germany
- Xavi Perez, Spain
- Yiannis Toumazis, Cyprus
Trans Europe Halles is co-funded by the Swedish Arts Council and the City of Lund, Sweden. Our projects The Network Project (TNP), Rebuilding to last (RTL), Cultural Transformation Movement Project (CTMP), ZMINA! Rebuilding, and AlterPlaces (AP) are funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. The project The Good Enough Transformation (GET) is funded by the Nordik Kulturfond. The Region of Skåne, Sweden, funds the International Resource Office.
We grew. We developed. We improved. But we couldn’t have done any of our work without the support and encouragement of our partners. They believe that what we do matters.
TEH Coordination office until recently had been based at Mejeriet.
We are a founding partner of EIT Culture & Creativity, and an official partner of the New European Bauhaus Initiative.
We are a member of Culture Action Europe, On the Move , IETM – international network for contemporary performing arts, The International Climate Heritage Alliance, and The European Heritage Alliance.
Our Current Executive Committee
Our Team
Interim Managing Director
Mieke Renders
I work both on the internal and external structure of our network. I help co-develop together with our members and ExComm the future strategy of TEH and ensure it is implemented. I oversee our main activities and secure future collaborations and strategic partnerships. I am also involved in the daily work of the Coordination Office and manage its team, making sure our work benefits our members the most.
Contact me for project proposals, advocacy, partnerships and services, or requests for talks and participation in advisory bodies.
mieke@teh.netDirector of Strategic Development
Fairooz Tamimi
In my work I ensure that our partnerships and collaborations go in line with our main strategic axes and meet our members’ needs. My particular passion and focus is diversity, inclusion and SDGs and ensuring they are implemented in the daily work of the Coordination Office and our members.
Contact me if you have a project proposal, collaboration idea or would like to join our Solidarity Actions. If you are an advocacy group working with inclusion, diversity, LGBTQI or SDGs, get in touch as we would be happy to work together.
fairooz@teh.netFinance and Admin Director
Barbara Elia
I am responsible for the administrative and financial management of the organisation and I advise on strategic and financial planning. I work with the Managing Director on the broader financial and administrative management and with Project Managers on projects financial management and reporting.
Contact me for any exchanges needed on financial issues.
barbara@teh.netCommunications Officer
Olga Rudak
I run daily communications for Trans Europe Halles, both external and internal. I ensure implementation of our marketing and communications strategy, oversee brand consistency on all our communications channels; gather and analyse relevant data and work on the promotion of our main activities and events.
Contact me if you have questions about our communications; need to update your information on our website or have an interesting and relevant project to disseminate to our membership.
olga@teh.netAdmin Manager
Thalia Giovannelli
I work with Admin, HR and our Digital environment. I make sure we have good working conditions and good digital resources to work with and make available to our members. In addition, I work with all papers, excels, and fun things related to TEH's work.
Contact me if you have a question regarding paperwork, contracts, invoices, work environment, governance, digitalisation, digital tools, remote work and much more!
thalia@teh.netProject and member relations manager
Femi Adeniyi
Part of my responsibilities includes ensuring a smooth working relationship/collaborations between TEH and its members, removing barriers and challenges that would otherwise hinder the effective collaboration between TEH member network.
Get in touch with me if you would like to discuss how to become a member or if you are one, anything that TEH can do to serve you better.
femi@teh.netSenior Project Manager
Hanna Olsson
I am in charge of the International Resource Office, coordinating the Arts Education Hub and the Youth Hub, as well as acting as the Coordination Office’s contact for the Nordic/Baltic members.
Contact me if you are a cultural actor in Skåne looking for help to develop international projects and collaborations or have questions regarding any of the hubs mentioned.
hanna@teh.netSenior Project Manager & Researcher
Ceyda Berk-Söderblom
I manage the Cultural Transformation Movement project, a key strategic project for TEH, and coordinate the CTMP consortium, a working group of our members who are ambitious to reduce inequalities and inspire the European cultural sector. I am in charge of developing TEH’s relationship with the academic sector on social justice, spatial justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and other topics relevant to underrepresented communities.
Contact me with ideas on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Cultural Transformation Movement project, social transformation and democracy-related issues.
ceyda@teh.netSenior Project Manager
Erika Haxhi
I coordinate The Network Project (TNP) and make sure that our network activities, events and capacity-building programs and advocacy activities run smoothly and meet the needs of our members. In addition, I co-produce TEH meetings with host centres that take place twice a year and bring 250+ cultural professionals from across Europe and beyond.
Contact me if you have a question regarding TEH meetings, networking opportunities, TEH self-learning resources, evaluation and other TNP activities.
erika@teh.netCommunications Officer
Olga Zaporozhets
I manage the communication strategy and plan for the Cultural Transformation Movement Project and its consortium. This involves tasks like researching our audience, building a community around CTMP’s mission, creating relevant and effective content, and planning its distribution through various communication channels. I also provide support to the ZMINA project, where I help Ukrainian artists and cultural organisations gain visibility.
Contact me if you have any expertise or suggestions on improving communication for social justice among underrepresented groups.
olga.z@teh.netAdmin & Logistics Secretary
Cassidy Nazario
The main purpose of my position is to support the directors and staff members of Trans Europe Halles. The administrative and logistical support that I provide includes but is not limited to: making travel arrangements, archiving documents, managing invoices, supporting team meetings, and maintaining the office and its supplies.
Contact me if you have questions about reimbursements, invoicing and travel bookings.
cassidy@teh.netESC Event Production Volunteer
Maïa Paounov
I’m involved in the coordination part of The Network Project (TNP) dedicated to organising TEH networking events. I’m especially working on our yearly meetings that bring together grassroots cultural centers from the TEH network across Europe and beyond, but not only. I also provide support for advocacy or learning resources tasks related to research, city visits, program production, coordination of specific projects, and logistics.
Contact me if you have any questions regarding TEH meetings and other events.
maia@teh.netESC Communication Volunteer
Francesca Placanica
I am helping the team with both external and internal communication, diving into data and promoting our major activities and events.
Contact me if you have any questions about our communications or if there's a project you think would benefit our members!
francesca@teh.netFunders and Supporters
FAQ
Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings. However, Camp Meetings (they take place in autumn) are more member-driven and raise questions that are primarily interesting within the network. Spring Conferences are more open and might be better suited for the general public. Yet, if you are interested in the topic of any of our meetings do not hesitate to register.
You can find more information about the process here
To apply as a full member of TEH, an organisation needs to meet certain criteria (see our membership page)
Full members are actively involved in the development of the network. They can vote during General Assemblies that take place twice a year at our meetings. They have more opportunities to participate in the events and trainings that we organise.
Organisations who are interested in TEH work but do not fulfill the full membership criteria can apply for associate membership.
Associate members have access to a large selection of resources and programs and can join the hubs (working groups) of Trans Europe Halles.
Benefits of a full membership are:
- Direct access to all the networking opportunities, programmes and resources offered by Trans Europe Halles
- Community of peers from 162+ organisations from 40+ countries across Europe and beyond that share their passion for buildings, social justice and arts and culture
- Possibility to shape the future of the network through voting rights or joining the Executive Committee – our governing body
- Advocacy for specific needs such as anti-eviction, urgent response to crisis and solidarity efforts within the network
- Funding opportunities, grant writing consultancy, and matchmaking for project partners
- Monthly internal newsletter
- Possibility to build or join international consortiums and take an active part in EU-funded projects
- Opportunity to join specialised working groups (HUBS) on specific topics or geographical areas
- Access to all TEH training and capacity building programs and mobility support opportunities
- Discounted prices for all TEH events
- Access to all publications and catalogues produced for over 40 years!
More information here
More information here
No, you are not. Yet, we encourage you to attend as often as you can. The more active you are, the more benefits you gain from being part of TEH family.
No, we are a non-governmental organisation, with an independent governance. However, we work closely with many local and European public institutions.
That is great news! Please, contact our Managing Director, Tiffany Fukuma.
