Adelaide City of Music continues to strengthen its international relationships across the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, with recent engagement highlighting opportunities for knowledge exchange in sustainability and cultural programming.
Through ongoing dialogue with fellow UNESCO City of Music Varaždin in Croatia, ACOM has gained insight into the Green Streets of Europe initiative; a multi-country project exploring how festivals and touring models can evolve in response to the climate crisis.
Delivered through the European Union’s Creative Europe program, Green Streets of Europe brings together festival partners from Denmark, Croatia, Portugal and the Czech Republic to rethink traditional approaches to presenting work. The project challenges the conventional “arrive–perform–leave” model, instead placing emphasis on process, locality and sustainability, and testing formats that reduce environmental impact while strengthening community connection.
At the centre of the initiative were 24 artist residencies delivered across the partner cities, connecting artists with local communities through workshops, research sessions and public presentations. These residencies were designed to embed artists more deeply within each location while reducing short-term travel. Alongside this, participating festivals undertook organisational change processes to develop long-term sustainability strategies, supported by international environmental organisation Julie’s Bicycle.
The project has already demonstrated meaningful outcomes. More than 80 new collaborations were formed between artists, festivals and local organisations, while over 1,100 participants and audiences engaged with the program across four countries. Notably, 92% of participants reported learning something new, highlighting the project’s impact in fostering awareness and dialogue.
Feedback from audiences and participants pointed to the value of these new approaches, with one reflection noting that the work “reinforced the sense of community”, while another described it as “innovative, something we don’t usually see at our festival.” The project also revealed important learnings, particularly around the need to clearly communicate artistic intent and sustainability themes when working in process-led and participatory formats.
A key insight emerging from Green Streets of Europe is the expanding definition of sustainability within the arts. Beyond environmental considerations, the project framed sustainability as a broader practice encompassing social connection, wellbeing, and long-term cultural relationships. This included exploring lower-impact production methods, reducing touring footprints, and building deeper engagement with local communities through participatory work.
For ACOM, engagement with projects such as this highlights the value of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a platform for shared learning, experimentation and collaboration. By connecting with cities undertaking innovative work in sustainability, Adelaide can both contribute its own experience and gain insight into emerging international approaches.
South Australia’s ongoing investment in renewable energy and the green economy provides a strong foundation for these conversations, as the state continues to position itself at the forefront of environmental transition. Within this context, there is growing opportunity to explore how music and cultural activity can align with sustainable practices at both a local and global level.
As cities across the Network continue to test new models, ACOM looks forward to building on these connections and identifying future opportunities at home and across the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for collaboration that support both cultural and environmental outcomes and connects the state to this important global discussion.