State of Culture
Ongoing project
State of Culture is a non-academic policy research initiative exploring how culture’s role and value are framed in national and European cultural policies. State of Culture also gathers insights from key stakeholders across the cultural and creative sectors on the major challenges and opportunities they face in the present world.
The main output of the initiative is the biennial State of Culture reports, which examine the key challenges and opportunities facing the cultural sector in Europe, and how culture’s role and value are understood in national and European policies. The reports aim to spark critical reflection on where we stand today — and where we are heading — while contributing fresh insights to cultural advocacy and policy debates. Each report raises critical questions about the role of culture and the arts in society and examine how the cultural sector can effectively contribute to societal resilience and transformation. Additionally, the reports highlight key challenges and messages to be addressed by both the sector and policy-makers.
Culture Action Europe (CAE) commissions the State of Culture reports primarily as a mirror for ourselves, our members and our sectors: how are we seen by others (e.g. policy makers), and how do we see ourselves? The State of Culture is thus a conversation starter that challenges and provokes our ecosystem to address critical questions central to shaping our collective advocacy in the years to come.
State of Culture 2026
The 2026 edition of the State of Culture report will be released by the end of 2026. The State of Culture Barometer Survey is currently being conducted to inform the new report, with the deadline for contributions being 23:59 (CEST) Sunday 31 May 2026. The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and all contributions are anonymous.
We want to hear directly from those shaping the cultural and creative sectors today. Whether you are an artist, cultural manager, producer, curator, or director, working across architecture, audiovisual, crafts, design, fashion, heritage, literature, music, performing arts, visual arts, or another creative sector — your perspective matters. We are seeking voices of professionals based in the EU and candidate countries, however, responses from other countries are also valuable for certain aspects of our research.
State of Culture 2024
The first State of Culture Report was published in October 2024, accompanied by a launch event and eight State of Culture webinars. Ten findings of the 2024 report include:
- there is a gap between how policymakers value culture and how the sector sees its role;
- growing instrumentalisation of culture restricts the cultural and creative sectors;
- human creativity and creative processes must be safeguarded in the face of digital threats;
- artistic freedom is increasingly under attack from new threats;
- culture is systematically overlooked as a catalyst for the future;
- culture can save democracy – but only if it is democratic itself;
- the working conditions and rights of cultural and creative workers must be strengthened;
- the ‘culture and climate’ debate is marked by unresolved contradictions;
- longer-term thinking is necessary and long-term thinking for culture;
- a ‘policy scaffolding’ for culture as a field in its own right is needed.
The fact that the European Commission announced its own State of Culture report as a flagship initiative under the Culture Compass for Europe (2025), following the publication of the 2024 State of Culture report, symbolises the value and contribution of the report into cultural policy debate at the European level.