Between Neighbours: Crossing Voices, Crossing Borders
Hosted by: Culture Unleashed, Space-time Works AB
Istanbul, Türkiye
4-6 May · 2026
The East Satellite BEYOND event titled ‘Between Neighbors: Crossing Voices, Crossing Borders’ will be organised by Culture Unleashed and Space-Time Works AB in partnership with İKSV, Postane, and Roof, in collaboration with Culture Action Europe, powered by Alliance for Socially Engaged Arts, and co-funded by the European Union. East Satellite BEYOND will take place in Istanbul between 4-6 May 2026. The event will be in English.
BEYOND is Culture Action Europe’s core strategic framework for reflection, active listening and joint advocacy across the cultural and creative sectors in Europe. It provides a space to explore bold, radical visions for the future while advancing core principles such as cultural democracy, ethical leadership, and cultural rights. BEYOND also serves as a two-way bridge between the cultural sector and policymakers. In 2026, six Satellite BEYOND events will take place across Europe. The East region event is being held in Istanbul, Türkiye, under the title ‘Between Neighbors: Crossing Voices, Crossing Borders’. The event will bring together artists, cultural professionals, researchers, and policymakers using creative and participatory formats and methodologies.
‘Between Neighbors: Crossing Voices, Crossing Borders’ focuses on four countries in the East region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. The event is driven by the need to address the cultural and political realities of our region: fragile peace, unresolved conflicts, cultural silences, and shrinking space for artistic freedom. These countries are bound together by centuries-old cultural ties—shared traditions, culture, cuisine—but these shared ties are intertwined with histories of conflict, silence, and division. Today, cultural actors in the four countries face common challenges: censorship and self-censorship, fragile infrastructures, dependence on limited funding, limited understanding of how to use digital technologies, and unequal access to resources. And most importantly, direct contact between cultural communities in these countries is still very limited. The event aims to engage radical imagination for these problems and create a space for concrete proposals, exploring how culture contributes to peace, conflict resolution, resilience, and social and cultural change. Sessions will address topics such as cultural democracy and ethical leadership, freedom of artistic expression and sector autonomy, access to and participation in culture, and cultural financing.
East Satellite BEYOND is committed to minimise its environmental impact by prioritising low-impact production methods, reducing waste, and promoting more sustainable mobility choices where possible.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the funders. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.