A Collective Manual for Sustainable and Inclusive Art Institutions

Our hope is that terms like “inclusion” and “sustainability” will one day disappear from our vocabulary altogether, because they will have become a natural part of daily reality and a basic precondition for how institutions function. Yet current practice in the cultural and creative sectors shows that inclusion and sustainability as ethical-methodological frameworks remain the exception rather than the norm.

That is why the Jindřich Chalupecký Society joined forces with five other small and mid-sized art institutions from across Europe to realise the Islands of Kinship project between 2022 and 2024, aimed precisely at reforming institutional practices. The publication A Collective Manual for Sustainable and Inclusive Art Institutions, edited by Barbora Ciprová, Tereza Jindrová, Karina Kottová, and Nikola Ludlová, emerged as one of the outcomes of this project and was published in 2024. It documents what was developed over the course of the project and what we learned along the way. Supported by the EU’s Creative Europe programme, the project enabled us to carry out a thematically interconnected artistic and public programme built around four broadly defined areas, expand our human and non-material capacities by establishing a new position — the inclusion and sustainability coordinator — and deepen our institutional development strategies, while also actively implementing these principles throughout our work.

The presence and expertise of inclusion and sustainability coordinators was crucial. These individuals significantly contributed not only to the development of inclusive and sustainable practices within their organisations and to the realisation of artistic and accompanying programmes, but also opened up new levels of discussion about the possibility of standardising and embedding such practices across the cultural and creative sectors.

The Collective Manual documents these exhibition and accompanying programmes and synthesises our experiences of implementing them — from curatorial and production perspectives, as well as from the standpoint of audience engagement. The book reflects the collective effort of all staff from the institutions involved in Islands of Kinship, as well as the external collaborators who contributed conceptually, as authors, or through production and promotion. As the title suggests, we conceived the book as a kind of manual for cultural and artistic institutions in Europe striving to become more socially and environmentally responsible, and accessible to a broader spectrum of publics. However, it is not a manual in the strict sense. It is not merely a set of practical guidelines — e.g. which materials or services to use or avoid to be more sustainable, or instructions on whom to contact and how to proceed to be more inclusive.

Our aim was to go beyond these well-meaning yet reductive recommendations or checklists. First, because such tips, while useful, can overly simplify complex issues. And second, because we understand the publication as a prompt for a broader discussion — a conversation grounded in our collective efforts to lay the foundations for art institutions that can not only survive the exceptionally difficult times we live in, but help create the conditions for positive, perhaps even radical, change. The publication thus has a wider scope: it also serves as a socially critical analysis of current institutional practices and a stimulus for their transformation. Within the ethical-methodological framework of the entire project, the publication also offers reflections not only on how we understand inclusion and sustainability, but also on the historical development of these concepts and the context of their application in professional, civic, and political spheres of public life.

The publication is structured around four thematic sections (New Agora, Kinship and Family in the 21st Century, Beyond Ecology, Inclusive Curatorial Strategies), which correspond to the thematic lines of the artistic programmes. Each section opens with a curatorial text that explores the topic as a contemporary social issue, placing it in broader cultural and historical contexts while relating it to artistic and curatorial practices. These are followed by contributions from inclusion and sustainability coordinators and invited authors, written as “manuals.” Each text focuses on different aspects of institutional practice based on the expertise of its authors. In terms of format, these range from general reflections and theoretical or cultural-historical excursions to creative mind maps, practical tools (e.g. “access rider”), sets of recommendations, and ethical frameworks for specific areas of work (e.g. codes of conduct). While grounded in practice, the texts also engage broader cultural, political, environmental, and institutional contexts, and draw from a range of theoretical perspectives — particularly intersectional frameworks. Each section also includes documentation of artworks created as part of the project, accompanied by materials from participating artists.

We also applied the principles of inclusion and sustainability in the design and production of the printed publication. Graphic designer Petr Kněžek sought simple solutions that were environmentally conscious and efficient in terms of production, logistics, and cost — for example, by minimising the use of ink and materials and carefully designing the book’s colour layout and structure. We used leftover paper stock from the printing house that would otherwise have been discarded. The book is composed of differently coloured sections, which not only reduced costs and supported a circular economy approach, but also enhanced the aesthetic experience of the reader. Each copy of the book is thus unique. You’ll also find one of ten bookmarks created by artists from the Community Cultural Centre ART (based in Prague 7): Marcela Capoušková, Helena Dolečková, Alena Kunčíková, Alena Prosečová, Iva Šafandová, and Blanka Vetešníková.

This English-language publication is intended for cultural and art professionals, institutional workers, artists, activists, educators, students, and anyone interested in art and culture in its broader social, political, and environmental contexts.

This text is a free adaptation of the foreword to the publication written by Barbora Ciprová, Tereza Jindrová, Karina Kottová, and Nikola Ludlová.