Global Cultural Districts Network launched

The decision makers behind established and emerging arts hubs such as the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong and other art destination urban quarters around the world will be united by a new forum which was announced in early June at the New Cities Summit in São Paulo.

As reported in The Art Newspaper, the ambitious project, entitled the Global Cultural Districts Network, is a partnership between the summit organiser, the New Cities Foundation, the New York-based cultural consultancy firm AEA Consulting and representatives from the Dallas Arts District.

Network members will share resources, discuss the impact of urban policies and economic developments on cultural centres, and assess trends in technology and the creative industries. But will the new body have any sway? "It provides a network for people responsible for conceiving and planning these projects to share both their challenges—‘what's keeping them up at night’—and best practices—‘what's allowing them to sleep’,” says Adrian Ellis, the director of AEA Consulting.

The newly launched organisation hopes to recruit members; its high-profile trustees, meanwhile, include Michael Lynch, the chief executive of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong; Carolien Gehrels, Amsterdam's deputy mayor responsible for Economic Affairs, Art & Culture; and Michael Eissenhauer, the general director of the National Museums in Berlin.