In 2026, the cities of Trenčín, Slovakia and Oulu, Finland will jointly hold the title of European Capital of Culture. On Tuesday, November 4, the two cities presented their title-year programmes together at the Council of the European Union in Brussels.

Trenčín 2026 launches TrenAir, the very first international residency program in Trenčín. With this initiative, they are opening the city to new creative impulses and collaborations, transforming it into a vibrant space of cultural exchange, dialogue, and artistic innovation. 

After being presented at the Venice Biennale last year, the site-specific project “Disobedience Archive” makes a stop in Trencin, European Capital of Culture 2026 in a Site specific installation, designed by Zbyněk Baladrán.

From July 3 to July 13, Trenčín will become part of the largest Central European literary festival. The theme: exile literature.

To understand a city, it is necessary to understand its inhabitants. And to understand the inhabitants, it is necessary to listen to them, to collect their stories, their memories, but also their attitudes and aspirations. All this serves to better interpret the present, but also to better understand the effects that a European Capital of Culture can have on their citizens, their habits, their ambitions.