Network

Interdisciplinary collaboration between local authorities, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector has resulted in innovative projects and practices that distinguish Karlsruhe as a cultural and creative city. This creates a climate for a vibrant urban culture which is supported by networking and creative cooperation.

Membership in the UCCN enables the city of Karlsruhe to boost its creative potential, to develop socioeconomically and culturally, and to collaborate on an international level.

UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

Karlsruhe is since 2019 a member of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN). It was founded in 2004 to encourage collaboration with and between cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. Currently, 408 cities belong to this network, working towards a common goal: to put creativity and cultural industries at the center of their local development plans and to work together actively on an international level.

The Eight German Cities in the Network

The UNESCO Creative Cities program networks cities worldwide that seek to exchange experience, strategies, ideas, and model practices in the fields of contemporary art and culture, including cultural industries. Eight German cities are in the UCCN: Berlin as a city of design, Hanover and Mannheim as cities of music, Heidelberg and Bremen as a cities of literature, Karlsruhe as a city of media arts, Potsdam as a city of film, and Höhr-Grenzhausen as city of craft & folk art.

Media Arts Cluster

There are 408 members of the UCCN global network, of which 27 are UNESCO Cities of Media Arts. In the Media Arts Cluster, the cities work together intensively, foster interdisciplinary exchange, share their knowledge and experience, as well as outstanding media art and methods for developing artistic projects.

City to City

City to City is an international project launched in 2020 by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Media Arts Cluster that emerged as a response to the pandemic to support artists in their difficult period of inactivity. The program enables the selected artists to work together for three months on an international level.

Advisory Board

More than 40 institutions from the cultural and creative industries, research and science, the digital scene as well as urban societies and departments are represented on the Advisory Board.

Kunstrauschen

Kunstrauschen is a platform for Karlsruhe’s independent art scene: once a year, the city’s off-spaces and project spaces open their doors, creating a unique artistic network for encounters and exchange.