GCDN Annual Convening – Lugano 2022

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CULTURAL DISTRICTS?

GCDN’s 2022 Annual Convening will bring together international cultural and civic leaders to consider the role of cultural districts in a changed world. Co-hosted by LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura in Switzerland, it will take a holistic look at the longer-term impact of the pandemic, climate change, and other global issues on the creative industries and the urban realm to explore what lies ahead for cultural districts.

Opened in 2015, LAC has made a significant contribution to the cultural, social and economic life of Lugano. The city's complex amalgam of languages and cultures, and its location at the heart of Europe provide a rich site for a highly participative programme of debates, workshops and networking activities. At LAC’s spectacular lakeside arts centre, we will aim to identify together the tools and strategies cultural districts must develop to face these global issues head on.

Cultural districts have a civic and collaborative purpose at heart, encompassing a cluster of organisations and creative enterprises with a desire to improve urban life. In a time of societal, economic, environmental, and political flux, cultural organisations are increasingly keen to utilise their resources and cultural heft to make a difference. It becomes ever more essential to go beyond the rhetoric and refine our understanding of the resources and appetite required to achieve meaningful change; and for cultural districts to contribute to building a sustainable future. The 2022 convening will support GCDN's commitment to make an authentic contribution to the most challenging issues of the day.

GCDN is an initiative of AEA Consulting.