Visions from Our Network

Amplifying perspectives emerging from across the community.

Visions from Our Network is a collaborative space dedicated to sharing the thoughts, projects, practices, and contributions of members of the b.creative community around a common theme.

Each edition brings together diverse voices from across geographies, disciplines, and professional contexts—inviting cultural practitioners, creative entrepreneurs, researchers, activists, and organizations to contribute with articles, artistic works, research, references, audiovisual materials, methodologies, and other forms of expression connected to their own experiences and realities.

Emerging from the diversity of experiences within the network, the initiative seeks to create connections across territories, disciplines, and ways of working—highlighting how cultural and creative practitioners engage with contemporary challenges and imagine alternative futures.

Through this growing collection of shared contributions, the initiative strengthens b.creative’s commitment to transnational exchange, collective knowledge-building, and community-driven cultural ecosystems.

The Possibilities and Challenges of Third Spaces

This first edition explores how cultural, creative, and community spaces can foster connection, participation, and a sense of belonging — while also revealing tensions around access, exclusion, and collective ownership.

Bringing together contributions from across the b.creative network, the edition reflects on the role of “Third Spaces” as environments where people gather, exchange, collaborate, and shape community through shared experiences.

Luís Teixeira | School of Arts, Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)

In the article “Infection, Participation and Informality”, Luís Teixeira from Universidade Católica Portuguesa shares with us a reflection on how cultural and creative spaces can foster social bonds through artistic exchange, participation, and informal encounters — while also revealing the tensions, exclusions, and accessibility challenges that shape these environments.

Paula Trujillo | Conexiones Creativas

Drawing from the experience of Cultural and Creative Districts across the Americas and Europe, Paula from Conexiones Creativas reflects on how reclaiming urban spaces for culture can foster participation, collective ownership, and social connection — while also confronting the risks of gentrification and exclusion that often emerge in processes of creative urban transformation.

Davide Perissutti | Circo all'in Circa/Terminal Festival

Through the experience of Terminal Festival in Udine, Davide from Circo all’inCirca reflects on how public space can become a living environment for encounter, participation, and collective belonging — transforming audiences from spectators into active participants, while also confronting the cultural, social, and economic barriers that can shape access to shared spaces.

Maite Guerrero Giraldéz | Inercia Digital

Through projects such as United in Diversity and Next Museum, Maite Guerrero from Inercia Digital presents to us how digital and cultural environments can foster participation, collaboration, and social connection by creating hybrid spaces where communities engage both online and onsite — while also reflecting on the inequalities and barriers that continue to shape access to these spaces.

Natia Meparishvili | Week of Art, Women Business Council in Georgia

Dr. Natia Meparishvili shares with us the initiative Digital Exhibition Week of Women in Art, promoted by the Women Business Council in Georgia which explores how hybrid cultural platforms can function as contemporary “third spaces” for women artists — fostering visibility, international exchange, and creative collaboration, while also addressing inequalities related to digital access, representation, and professional networks.

Freedom Force | The Green Mandate

In the proposal Masquerade City, The Green Mandate reimagines the “third place” as a space for collective focus, artisanal knowledge, and cultural sovereignty — using low-connectivity environments and shared labor as tools to foster deeper participation and community ownership, while also confronting the tensions of exclusion, isolation, and access within highly curated creative ecosystems.

Iman Kamel | The Holographic Being

With Merysai — A Floating Salon on the Nubian Nile, The Holographic Being reimagines “third space” as a floating environment for cross-disciplinary encounter, cultural memory, and collective reflection, creating a space where local Nubian heritage, artistic exchange, and intergenerational dialogue converge through the shared experience of gathering on the water.

Ivana Nikolić | Q'ART

Ivana Nikolić from Q’ART reflects on the fragilities, contradictions, and possibilities embedded in contemporary public space — exploring how artistic and community-based practices can foster belonging, connection, and critical engagement while confronting the tensions that shape collective life today.

Indraneel Banerjee | Cultur·Able

Indraneel Banerjee from Cultur·Able reflects on how cultural spaces can become more accessible, inclusive, and participatory by centering disability-led perspectives, shared learning, and collective visibility — challenging cultural preconceptions while fostering stronger senses of belonging and community connection.

How Can Creative Ecosystems Across Africa and Europe Strengthen One Another?

Inspired by the European Union’s Africa–Europe Partnerships for Culture programme, this edition explores the theme “How Can Creative Ecosystems Across Africa and Europe Strengthen One Another?”, bringing together reflections, experiences, and projects that examine how creative collaboration between both continents can foster more equitable partnerships, mutual learning, and shared opportunities.

Olabode Moses Leye | Culture Entrepreneur, Theatre Maker & Filmmaker

In the article “How Africa and Europe Can Build One Another: Lessons From the Frontlines of Culture”, Olabode Moses Leye reflects on how equitable partnerships, mutual learning, and shared creative infrastructures can reshape cultural collaboration between Africa and Europe. Drawing on decades of experience across film, theatre, and community-based artistic practice, he argues for models of cooperation built on co-authorship, reciprocity, and long-term impact.

Luís Teixeira | Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)

In the article “Maputo Fast Forward: Creativity, Resilience and Human Potential”, Luís Teixeira reflects on the role of Maputo Fast Forward in strengthening Mozambique’s creative ecosystem through collaboration, exchange, and long-term commitment. Drawing on personal experiences with the initiative, the piece highlights how sustained cultural platforms can unlock human potential, foster international connections, and nurture resilient creative communities.

Kago Monageng | i heart gabs city

In the article “A Decade of Building an Urban Creative Kgotla”, Kago Monageng reflects on how Diamond Square transformed an overlooked public space in Gaborone into a thriving hub for creativity, cultural exchange, and community engagement. Through a decade of placemaking initiatives, the piece illustrates how collaborative, low-cost interventions can strengthen local identity, foster international dialogue, and reimagine public spaces as engines of social innovation.

Silvia Porretta | Nessuno Indietro APS

In the article “What Should a Europe–Africa Cooperation Project Leave Behind?”, Silvia Porretta reflects on the lasting impact of cultural cooperation beyond individual projects. Drawing on her experience in the cultural and creative industries, policy research, and community practice, she explores how Europe–Africa collaborations can foster institutional learning, stronger creative ecosystems, and sustainable public value.