World Cities Culture Report 2018

Against a backdrop of a changing world order and increasingly divisive national politics, the World Cities Culture Report highlights how local governments in cities across the world are responding with cultural policies that are more inclusive and open to a greater range of people, practitioners, art forms and new spaces.

The report includes example of cities responding to common challenges, showing the ways in which cities are expanding their cultural offer. Here are just some examples of the incredible work our member cities are doing:

• In Hong Kong, Rome and Moscow, mobile arts venues and libraries are used to bring culture closer to citizens in every corner of their cities, particularly those areas with traditionally lower engagement with arts and culture
• Projects in Montréal, San Francisco and Melbourne have been developed in collaboration with indigenous populations to celebrate and fully acknowledge the cultures of First Nations.
• A number of cities are working with migrants and refugees to provide cultural opportunities to marginalised groups. This includes supporting artist residents for two years through the ICORN programme (International Cities of Refuge for artists artist and writers in exile) in Paris, as well as the Cinemaximiliaan project in Brussels, which provides a welcome to the city by offering film screenings to refugees in parks, asylum centres and people’s homes.
• London has established the world’s first Culture at Risk office – a hot line for venues at risk of closure due to rising rates, increasing development and shifting populations. The office has been involved in saving 300 venues, from grassroots music venues to LGBT+ spaces
• Stockholm’s cultural administration has teamed up with media company Consigo on a project called Tactsenze, which enables the visually impaired to learn an instrument
• To respond to the needs of a growing ageing population Amsterdam’s Age Friendly Cultural City programme focuses specifically on cultural provision for the city’s older residents

Looking at the range of these projects, it’s clear that global cities no longer consider culture to be a niche policy area. On the contrary – culture is providing creative solutions across all aspects of city policy with real depth and sophistication.