Executive Summary

This report seeks to challenge the perception that the economic and social vitality of the creative and cultural industries (CCI) is primarily related to urban areas. It focuses on six non-urban regions of Europe that are home to dynamic CCI ecosystems. These regions are the Azores, Portugal; the West Region, Iceland; the Western Coastal Periphery, Ireland; Rauma and Eurajoki, Finland; Valmiera County, Latvia; and Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. They are also home to the IN SITU Labs that serve as spaces where research and practice are combined to provide granular, living descriptions and analysis of the rich cultural offerings of these peripheral areas. This report also explores the interplay between the CCI sector and local traditions, economic and social development, and placemaking. The IN SITU Labs not only provide a lens through which to view the strengths and needs of non-urban CCIs but also how these correlate with and address development issues in their region. In order to accomplish these objectives, a series of cultural mapping exercises were undertaken. Cultural Mapping is an interdisciplinary field of research and a methodological tool used in participatory planning and community development. It aims to make clear the ways in which cultural assets serve to create meaningful places while also identifying areas of improvement and initiating local transformation. A three-pillar cultural mapping framework was developed for the IN SITU Labs. These included, first, an Inventory of CCIs in each region that was complemented by a year-by-year index numbering of CCI enterprises and employees; second, an inventory of events, festivals and other cultural organisations in each region; and third, an audit of the cultural policies and funding opportunities in each region. These exercises were supplemented by a series of focus groups that involved CCI Actors and other Local Actors in each region to explore and assess the present and future of each CCI ecosystem. What emerged was a picture of non-urban CCI sectors that were both multi-faceted and brimming with potential. Across the regions, cultural heritage and natural beauty were viewed as the basis for a robust CCI ecosystem. Traditional arts and crafts as well as traditional and contemporary forms of music contributed to the local economy and had a strong influence on each region’s cultural landscape. On one hand, this indicated a pan-European trend towards preserving artisanal techniques and folk traditions. On the other hand, the cultural landscape also spilled over into more contemporary pursuits such as games development in western Ireland, glass manufacture in Latvia, and experimental music festivals in the Azores. Yet while common strengths could be found across the regions, there were also common concerns over issues such as connectivity and strategic planning. Connectivity not only meant needed improvements to sustainable transport and digital infrastructure but also the need to establish Deliverable 3.1 (D3.1) – Local mapping processes and findings 10 networks of creative actors beyond the regions both nationally and internationally. Alongside this, there was an uneven creative and cultural policy landscape within and across the regions and an expression of the need for much more effective strategic planning to fully embrace the strengths of the CCI sector. In the end, such aspirations testify to the importance of CCIs in non-urban areas. We are bearing witness to a paradigm shift in how we view and imagine peripheral regions as sites of creativity and hubs of cultural production. Established narratives that confine non-urban areas to a passive role in relation to urban centres are making way for new perspectives that recognise them as crucial contributors to social and economic development and innovation.