CUP4Creativity, Újbuda

The UIA project CUP4Creativity focused on strengthening Újbuda’s cultural and creative ecosystem, linking cultural initiatives with the technology scene. It also improved access to art and technology for Újbuda citizens beyond the regular audience of the district’s cultural institutions.

Újbuda already supported the cultural and creative milieu that had emerged in the area over the previous decade. In the mid-2000s the Municipality of Újbuda developed a programme to develop Bartók Béla Boulevard into a cultural district. The programme included the renovation of public spaces along the avenue and a strategy that encouraged cultural and creative organisations to use ground floor retail spaces. A decade and a half later, Újbuda's downtown has become one of the most dynamic districts in the country, with countless galleries, studios and workshops, a rare concentration of cultural associations and creative industries. However, concerns about the neighbourhood’s commercialisation, combined with proliferating signs of mental distress among local residents, led local cultural producers to try to make the cultural scene more interconnected and inclusive.

The project is founded on the conviction that a neighbourhood can become more resilient to economic, environmental and social challenges by fostering cultural connections among residents. This involves cultural venues, local businesses, hospitality and neighbourhood initiatives working together. Such collaboration helps share limited local resources effectively, such as leisure time for community engagement, knowledge from residents and businesses for neighbourhood initiatives, shared spaces and tools for cultural activities, jointly maintained green spaces, and recycling or composting of waste.

CUP4Creativity helped strengthen the local cultural ecosystem with a number of newly developed, experimental tools. The mapping of local actors helped to better understand potential overlaps and collaborations, understanding that new offline and online spaces were needed to make these collaborations a reality. The new creative technology knowledge hub Adaptér interweaves art and technology in a visitor-friendly space.

The Insert programme has sparked new connections  and expanded Újbuda’s cultural scene through concerts, training courses, theatre performances and festivals in apartments, offices, studios, rooftops and other unusual venues (Private Stage). A competition for university orchestras (Great Hall) brought students from BME and ELTE closer to the cultural life of the district. A municipal call for public space interventions (The Square is Yours!) encouraged new initiatives where active citizens drive local change, organising street festivals, building new communities, and implementing joint projects with neighbours. The key legacy of CUP4Creativity is an extended partnership, and a dense network of collaborations based on complementary roles and shared resources.

The elements of: 1) community- and ecosystem-building; 2) creative spaces; 3) digital platforms; 4) corporate engagement; and 5) participatory governance, are being transferred to five other European cities through the URBACT Innovation Transfer Network ReCUP.