Weaving Cultural Futures: Artistic Freedom, Feminist Advocacy, and Local Governance in Action
Barcelona, Spain
MONDIACULT, UNESCO’s World Conference on Cultural Policies, was first held in 1982. Since then, the gathering has become a dominant annual gathering space for diverse members of the arts, culture, and human rights sectors. The forum, attended by all UNESCO member states, is a crucial stage for setting the global cultural agenda.
On 29 September 2025, in Barcelona, Spain, ARC — Artists at Risk Connection, in collaboration with Red Mujeres X la Cultura, and UCLG — United Cities and Local Governments, will host the side event “Weaving Cultural Futures: Artistic Freedom, Feminist Advocacy, and Local Governance in Action.” With expert interventions and a performance, the event will amplify the pressing hurdles faced by creatives worldwide and the power of creativity to construct new futures.
Weaving Cultural Futures: Artistic Freedom, Feminist Advocacy, and Local Governance in Action
29 September 2025
13:30 – 14:30
Room 120-121
Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB)
In a context of democratic erosion, gender inequality, and repression of fundamental freedoms, this session brings together global and local actors advancing cultural rights. Featuring voices from ARC, Red Mujeres X la Cultura, and UCLG, the event will explore how artistic freedom, feminist cultural advocacy, and local policy innovation intersect to defend cultural rights as a pillar of democracy and sustainability. Through conversation and a participatory kipu action, the session invites the audience to reflect on how collective memory, existencias, and resilience can help reimagine cultural governance in the post-2030 agenda and inform the design and implementation of people-centred human rights-based local and national policies.
Agenda
- Welcome & Opening Remarks
- Brief Organizational Interventions
ARC, “Defending Cultural Rights in an Era of Democratic Backsliding”
UCLG, “Cities at the Forefront of Cultural Rights Governance,” including comments from the host city, the Institut de Cultura, Ajuntament de Barcelona (City Council)
- Narrative and Visual Performance by Red Mujeres X la Cultura, “Women Cultural Rights and the Kipu of Memory”
Red Mujeres X la Cultura will present a collective narrative and visual performance centered on the Kipu, the Andean device that serves as both the material and symbolic core of the representation. This feminist methodology, developed within the network, will frame the action as a dialogic gesture addressing women’s cultural rights from an intersectorial perspective.
The performance will interweave voices previously gathered from women in the Network and their organizations, along with new “knots” emerging from the reflections shared at MONDIACULT. Facilitators and narrators will connect these testimonies, creating a collective narrative thread.
Speakers & Performers
Jordi Pascual
Jordi Pascual is the coordinator of the Committee on culture of the world organisation of UCLG — United Cities and Local Governments. The work of the Committee is based on Culture 21 Actions, a complete cultural rights-based toolkit on culture in sustainable cities. The Committee organizes a global award as well as a biennial Summit, manages a unique database of good practices and promotes a range of learning and capacity-building programmes for cities. As coordinator of the Committee, he is involved in the global campaign #culture2030goal that advocates for the role of cultural factors and actors in the UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, including the need of a Culture Goal. Jordi Pascual holds a PhD on cultural rights in sustainable development (University of Girona) and teaches cultural rights and globalization (Open University of Catalonia).
Oriol Martí Sambola
Oriol Martí Sambola (Barcelona, 1979) has a degree in Political Science from the UAB and a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management and Policy (UB) and a postgraduate degree in Aesthetics and Digital Narrative (UOC). Between 2003 and 2011, he was assistant manager of FiraTàrrega, and since 2012 he has been its manager. He co-directs the Master’s Degree in Street Arts Creation at the University of Lleida. He was vice president of the Association of Cultural Managers of Catalonia, and is currently the Director of the Institut de Cultura, Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Julie Trébault
Julie Trébault is the Founder and Executive Director of ARC — Artists at Risk Connection, a global organization dedicated to safeguarding artistic freedom and supporting artists and cultural workers under threat. Under her leadership, ARC provides critical resources and support to more than 2,100 artists in more than 60 countries facing persecution from state and non-state actors, empowering them to overcome challenges to their creative expression. Prior to founding ARC, she served as director of public programs at the Museum of the City of New York and the Center for Architecture.
Red Mujeres X la Cultura
Red Mujeres X la Cultura promotes participation, gender equality, and the empowerment of women in the cultural sphere. This can involve various actions, such as encouraging the inclusion of women in leadership and decision-making roles in cultural institutions; supporting and promoting the artistic and cultural work of women, providing platforms and opportunities to showcase their work; raising awareness of gender issues and promoting equity in the representation and funding of cultural projects; advocating for policies and practices that ensure an inclusive and diverse cultural environment, free from discrimination and gender stereotypes; and facilitating the exchange of resources, knowledge, and experiences among women working in different areas of the cultural sector.
Members of the network performing at the event include:
- Susana Salerno (Argentina)
- Loreto Bravo (Chile)
- Angélica Arias (Ecuador)
- Karla Quispe (Perú)
- Clara Mónica (Colombia)
- Denisse (an immigrant in Barcelona from Chile/Palestine)
- Mercia Britto (Brazil)
- Karol Bergeret, Mercè
- Laura Iglesias, Sonia Puyol (Catalunya)
- Raquel Martínez-Gómez (Spain)
