Culture and creativity as assets for inclusive growth in small and remote places: a design-led process

This paper aims to highlight the design-led process in the research and the range of its application in contexts beyond the mainstream: the decentralized areas, defined as “small and remote places”. This is based on an ongoing action-research project called SMOTIES - Creative works with small and remote places, a four-year co-funded project by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. The ten partners involved in the project come from the cultural realm, including universities, design/art collectives, NGOs, and design associations. They aim at knowledge transfer, capacity building, and audience development in 10 small and remote areas in their own country. This paper refers to the first two years’ activities focusing on the shared methodology and overall program.