Cultural mobility in Europe is a key element for developing a common cultural space, fostering the exchange of ideas, artistic cooperation, and disseminating cultural heritage across borders. In a continent marked by its diversity, this flow of people, goods, and experiences allows European citizens to access a wide range of artistic expressions, strengthening social cohesion and promoting interculturality. Cultural mobility manifests itself in various forms: from the displacement of audiences, artists, and other sector agents to participate in festivals, residencies, and exhibitions, to the circulation of works of art and collaboration between cultural institutions from different countries.
Author: Jaime López, Asociación Arte Sostenible
The latest cultural mobility yearbook, published in 2025 by On the Move, an international information network dedicated to artistic and cultural mobility, shows that Europe remains the epicenter of global cultural mobility. This is driven by significant funding and a diverse network of organizers and destinations with a growing focus on the environment and sustainability.
However, cultural mobility, despite its social and cultural benefits, has a considerable environmental impact. Julie’s Bicycle, a British organization specializing in cultural sustainability, has evidenced in various reports that international travel and transporting materials and cultural goods, especially by air, are key factors in the sector’s carbon footprint. In this regard, the European Environment Agency (EEA) warns that the current trend in the transport sector deviates significantly from the target set in the European Green Deal, which seeks to reduce emissions by 90% by 2050, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Given this panorama, it is imperative to accelerate the transition towards sustainable mobility and adopt more ambitious strategies that align the cultural sector with European climate goals.
Firstly, digital communication has opened new possibilities for cultural mobility, transforming the way artists, institutions, and audiences interact. Technological advances have enabled the creation of virtual or hybrid events, online exhibitions, and remote collaborations, such as the virtual control of works traveling between institutions, thus eliminating the need for displacements.
In the field of transport, more and more cultural organizations are opting for ecological alternatives to reduce their carbon footprint, prioritizing public transport, walking, and cycling. In Finland, HIAP, the Helsinki International Artist Program, promotes “slow travel”, and some residencies, such as the Saari residence of the Kone Foundation, are allowing artists to experiment and adopt new forms of low-emission travel as part of their activity. Likewise, the renowned contemporary art agency IHME Helsinki, through its guidelines to reduce the environmental impact of its productions, has achieved a significant reduction in the carbon footprint derived from travel and transport.
Electric vehicles and shared transport are also gaining ground as sustainable mobility choices. Trains in Europe have become an attractive option for travel, and their use is being encouraged at many cultural events and festivals. This is the case of Renfe, the Spanish railway company, which, through the ‘Tren de la Cultura’ initiative, offers advantages to attendees and exhibitors of music festivals, including preferential access, raffles, and discounts.
Another key strategy to promote sustainable cultural mobility lies in the reinvention of traditional formats of cultural events and activities. Various organizations are opting for decentralized and regional models. Instead of concentrating a festival in a single city or country, some initiatives, such as the Avignon Theater Festival, experiment with simultaneous celebration in multiple locations. This approach not only minimizes the environmental impact by reducing the need for long displacements but also promotes greater inclusion of local audiences.
Likewise, some museums are adopting strategies to reduce the transport of artworks, promoting virtual traveling exhibitions that minimize the movement of goods. A good practice is found in the European project ReInherit, where three museums from Austria, Greece, and Cyprus implemented the ‘ReThinking Exhibitions’ initiative. Through reusable modular design, local production, and digital elements (such as holograms of artworks), they reduced travel, costs, and emissions, demonstrating that innovative alternatives can make exhibitions more sustainable.
However, we must consider that sustainable cultural mobility is a challenge that not only requires technological and logistical innovations but also a profound change in the way cultural institutions, public administrations, and audiences address their environmental responsibility.
Museums, theaters, festivals, galleries, and other cultural entities must be leaders in adopting sustainable practices. They not only have the power to transform their operations but can also influence public opinion through exhibitions, educational programs, and campaigns, using art and culture as tools of awareness to inspire the adoption of sustainable mobility practices.
In this regard, the responsibility of the audience is equally crucial. The growing awareness of the climate emergency empowers spectators and cultural consumers to actively influence, demanding sustainable practices from institutions. Opting for events that prioritize public or shared transport, or supporting environmentally friendly cultural initiatives, are key actions to drive meaningful change.
Furthermore, cultural institutions must promote the creation of sustainable networks that facilitate international cooperation to unlock policy frameworks that place culture at the forefront of action on the climate crisis. A notable example is the international network Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), which has driven specific initiatives to promote sustainable mobility in travel and transport.
On the other hand, the transition towards sustainable cultural mobility requires the cultural sector’s commitment and the structural and financial support of public administrations. Policies must continue to incentivize the use of ecological transport, promote the development of green infrastructures, such as exclusive routes for pedestrians and bicycles, and install charging points for electric vehicles at cultural event venues.
In this context, the European Commission has launched several initiatives that promote a more responsible and ecological cultural mobility. A prominent example is the New European Bauhaus (NEB). Although its focus is broad, covering areas such as architecture, design, and urban planning, the NEB also drives initiatives that integrate sustainable mobility with aesthetic design and social inclusion, providing a cultural and creative dimension to the European Green Deal.
Another key initiative is found in the Action Plan for the Ecological Transition in the Cultural and Creative Sectors (LuoTo), which seeks to accelerate this transition through actions at the municipal level, providing tools that support sustainable cultural activities, such as establishing sustainability criteria for mobility grant allocation. This measure is already implemented in the Creative Europe program’s ‘Culture Moves Europe’ initiative, which provides economic incentives to artists and professionals who avoid air travel in their journeys.
In short, the future of cultural mobility in Europe requires a profound and holistic transformation that combines technological innovations, significant cultural changes, and ambitious public policies. Addressing climate challenges comprehensively will not only mitigate the environmental impact but also generate new opportunities for a more sustainable and culturally enriching future. The cultural sector, with its capacity for influence and creativity, has a unique opportunity to lead this change, redefining the way we produce and experience art and culture in a world facing unprecedented environmental challenges.
References:
On the Move
https://on-the-move.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/OTM_yearbook2025.pdf
Julie’s Bicycle
https://juliesbicycle.com/resources/
European Environment Agency
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/transport-and-mobility?activeTab=fa515f0c-9ab0-493c-b4cd-58a32dfaae0a&activeAccordion=e896069e-dd4a-4ae3-8c6d-d5d47aceadde
European Green Deal
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/transport-and-green-deal_es
HIAP
https://www.hiap.fi/ecotravel/
Kone Foundation
https://koneensaatio.fi/en/saari-residence/
IHME Helsinki
https://ihmehelsinki.fi/en/
Avignon Theater Festival
https://festival-avignon.com/en/venues
Gallery Climate Coalition
https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/shipping/
New European Bauhaus
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/index_en
LuoTo – Action Plan for ecological transition in cultural and creative sectors
https://uudenmaanliitto.fi/en/projects/luoto-outlines-for-sustainable-future-in-creative-industry/
Culture Moves Europe
https://culture.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/creative-europe-culture-strand/culture-moves-europe
The project is part of the joint pARTir – Creating a Cultural Roadmap Towards Responsible International Mobility project by the Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes and ten Finnish institutes around the world, made possible by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program.
