Future DiverCities acts as an incubator for cultural innovation and new practices in creativity by stimulating risk taking through the creation of artworks in challenging urban environment.

This four-year project will establish a European network of creators to encourage and support creativity, innovation and art production, support and develop emerging talent and assist the creation, distribution and monetisation of art.

The focus will be on creativity in an urban context, with an emphasis on music, digital art and street art. This will be explored through a series of co-created, co-curated and co-produced events, residencies, laboratories and conferences bringing together experienced cultural players and creative organisations from cities across Europe: Bristol, Bergen, St. Etienne, Aix en Provence, Liepaja, Cornella, Zagreb, Berlin and Kuopio, and further afield in Quebec.

Activities will include:

• A series of labs incubating participative arts work in urban context
• Innovative digital tools to look at urban environment through creative processes
• Research on new cooperative models for digital musical distribution in Europe challenging the traditionnal value chain and promoting a fair remuneration of the artists.
• A solid training programme on community engagement for artists as social agents
• A curatorial research looking supporting project’s cycles: Future DiverCitizens, Future DiverSocieties, Future DiverStructures, Future DiverSystems.
• A series of conferences and professionals debates.

Learn more about the project in this interview with Ali Smith from lead organisation Superact.