About GCDN
An initiative of AEA Consulting, the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN) is an independent, international association committed to improving the quality of urban life through the contribution of the arts, culture and creative industries.
The network fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing among those responsible for creative and cultural districts, quarters and clusters in widely diverse contexts, providing rich and rewarding opportunities for cross fertilization and exchange.
The forum engages leaders and opinion formers in culture and in urban development through convenings, research and collaboration in order to inform global, local and sectoral agendas.
The Global Cultural Districts Network produces The Three Bells podcast, which examines how our cultural ecology is changing and why – especially within the dense concentrations of human activity in urban areas. Through interviews with cultural, civic, and thought leaders, the podcast explores their preoccupations, insights, and self-confessed blind-spots. The podcast's ambition is to alert our listeners to emerging developments; help to make sense of a challenging time; identify latent opportunities; and navigate those busy crossroads a little more confidently.
Current Members
Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, UAE
Adelaide Festival Centre – Adelaide, Australia
Alserkal Avenue – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Arizona Arts, University of Arizona – Tucson, Arizona, USA
Auckland Live– Auckland, New Zealand
Better Bankside – London, UK
Brooklyn Cultural District – Brooklyn, New York, USA
Canberra Theatre Centre – Canberra, Australia
City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism – Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Creative Estuary – Thames Estuary, UK
Culture Mile – London, UK
Dallas Arts District – Dallas, Texas, USA
East Bank at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – London, UK
Exhibition Road Cultural Group – London, UK
Fondation Fiminco – Romainville, France
Goldsmiths, University of London – London, UK
Harbourfront Centre – Toronto, Canada
HOTA, Home of the Arts – Gold Coast, Australia
JAX District – Diriyah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Kingston Art District – Kingston, Jamaica
Kulturdistriktet – Østerbro & Nordhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark
LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura – Lugano, Switzerland
Melbourne Arts Precinct – Melbourne, Australia
MuseumsQuartier Wien – Vienna, Austria
National Museum of Singapore & Bras Basah.Bugis Arts and Heritage District – Singapore
Navy Pier, Inc. – Chicago, Illinois, USA
Newark Museum of Art – Newark, New Jersey, USA
New World Symphony – Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage – Lausanne, Switzerland
Onassis Foundation – Athens & New York, Greece/USA
Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, Temple Bar – Dublin, Ireland
Perth Theatre Trust – Perth, Australia
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Powerhouse Museum – New South Wales, Australia
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Quartier de la Création (SAMOA) – Nantes, France
Quartier des Spectacles – Montreal, Québec, Canada
RAB / BKO (Réseau des Arts à Bruxelles / Brussels Kunstenoverleg) – Brussels, Belgium
Sharjah Museums Authority – Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Southbank Centre – London, UK
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center – Athens, Greece
The Bentway Conservancy – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Kuwait National Cultural District – Kuwait City, Kuwait
The Lowry / Salford Quays – Manchester, UK
The Masswascut Collaborative – Providence, Rhode Island, USA
The Music Center – Los Angeles, California, USA
TO Live – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority – Hong Kong, China
Affiliate Members
BuroHappold Engineering – Bath, UK
Grimshaw – New York, USA
Iregular – Montréal, Québec, Canada
Jason Bruges Studios – London, UK
RIOS – Los Angeles, California, USA
WHY – Los Angeles & New York, USA & Paris, France
Membership and Benefits
- Regular convenings to share emerging best practices, hear expert panels, and discuss the place of cultural precedents and complexes in urban policy such as travel and tourism;
- Access to members-only virtual forum for detailed sharing of information among members and discussion of opportunities and challenges on-line;
- Access to members-only virtual roundtables and webinars;
- Opportunities to establish strategic bilateral and multilateral partnerships for content, programming, skills training, and knowledge transfer;
- Access to general research by AEA Consulting and others on topics of common interest.
For more information on how to become a GCDN member, please fill out this form.