Regaining a sense of belonging
Project Ilica: Q'ART
Project Ilica: Q'ART - Community ART&CARE festival-action
Projekt Ilica: Q’ART transforms abandoned spaces into vibrant community hubs, merging art, social innovation, and sustainability. Each festival is co-created with citizens through workshops and discussions. With 26 held festivals, 17 reactivated spaces, and 2,583 engaged members—including artists, artisans, designers, and NGOs—the project fosters belonging, creativity, and empowerment. This is art that doesn’t just inhabit space—it reshapes it.
Croatia
Local
Zagreb in 8 different neighborhoods
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
2024-11-24
No
No
No
As a representative of an organisation
Project Ilica: Q’ART is an original artistic concept by Ivana Nikolić and Aleksandar Battista Ilić, designed as a pioneering initiative using art as a tool for social regeneration. Over nine years, it has engaged 260,000+ participants through artistic interventions, exhibitions, education, festivals, and therapeutic practices. The core idea is revitalising abandoned urban spaces and reimagining the street as a living, interactive entity through community art, where citizens, artists, and experts collaborate to create cultural and social content.
The project targets all age groups, particularly those less engaged in cultural activities, local artists, young creatives, vulnerable groups, and visitors discovering Zagreb through unique artistic interventions.
Through participatory processes such as workshops, discussions, and community-driven research, the project reflects real needs and interests. It has activated 18 abandoned spaces, engaged 2,500+ artists and exhibitors, and organised 26 festival-actions and 11 street art exhibitions.
Each festival follows a multilevel engagement approach, uniting educational institutions, local councils, cultural centres, NGOs, artisans, and businesses. This transdisciplinary model blends artistic and social practices, fostering an inclusive platform for shared creativity.
Key outcomes include increased artist visibility, local economic growth, repurposed spaces, and stronger community bonds. By merging art, social innovation, and sustainability, the project helps create resilient urban environments.
Aligned with New European Bauhaus values, it promotes sustainability (revitalising neglected spaces), aesthetics and design (artistic interventions in urban areas), and inclusivity (ensuring accessibility for all). Project Ilica: Q’ART proves that art can transform public space and empower communities through shared creation and participation.
The project targets all age groups, particularly those less engaged in cultural activities, local artists, young creatives, vulnerable groups, and visitors discovering Zagreb through unique artistic interventions.
Through participatory processes such as workshops, discussions, and community-driven research, the project reflects real needs and interests. It has activated 18 abandoned spaces, engaged 2,500+ artists and exhibitors, and organised 26 festival-actions and 11 street art exhibitions.
Each festival follows a multilevel engagement approach, uniting educational institutions, local councils, cultural centres, NGOs, artisans, and businesses. This transdisciplinary model blends artistic and social practices, fostering an inclusive platform for shared creativity.
Key outcomes include increased artist visibility, local economic growth, repurposed spaces, and stronger community bonds. By merging art, social innovation, and sustainability, the project helps create resilient urban environments.
Aligned with New European Bauhaus values, it promotes sustainability (revitalising neglected spaces), aesthetics and design (artistic interventions in urban areas), and inclusivity (ensuring accessibility for all). Project Ilica: Q’ART proves that art can transform public space and empower communities through shared creation and participation.
Community Art&Care
Radical Inclusion
Urban Regeneration
Participatory management
Environmental Awareness
Project Ilica: Q’ART uses art as a tool for environmentally conscious urban regeneration, activating abandoned spaces through a community art approach. By promoting circular economy principles, using recycled materials and nature-based solutions, the project reduces its ecological footprint while raising awareness of sustainable practices in urban settings.
How does the project demonstrate best practices?
1. Participatory urban renewal – Citizens and artists co-create ecological and artistic interventions, fostering collective responsibility for urban spaces.
2. Education on sustainability – Artistic workshops and interventions promote green infrastructure, circular economy, and sustainable urban design.
3. Use of recycled and natural materials – Participants apply reuse, repurpose, recycle, and upcycle principles, rethinking resource lifecycles.
4. Nature-based solutions – Urban green initiatives include planting greenery, revitalising neglected areas, and integrating natural materials, preventing biodiversity loss.
5. Second-Hand Fashion Show – A festival segment dedicated to sustainable fashion, where designers create new models from discarded materials, reinforcing the reuse economy and reducing textile waste.
6. Climate resilience assessment – A comprehensive study evaluates potential risks (extreme temperatures, flooding, pollution) and outlines long-term adaptation strategies through artistic and ecological interventions.
By merging art, sustainability, and active participation, the project redefines urban space, integrating environmental consciousness into creative processes and promoting long-term resilience in public spaces.
How does the project demonstrate best practices?
1. Participatory urban renewal – Citizens and artists co-create ecological and artistic interventions, fostering collective responsibility for urban spaces.
2. Education on sustainability – Artistic workshops and interventions promote green infrastructure, circular economy, and sustainable urban design.
3. Use of recycled and natural materials – Participants apply reuse, repurpose, recycle, and upcycle principles, rethinking resource lifecycles.
4. Nature-based solutions – Urban green initiatives include planting greenery, revitalising neglected areas, and integrating natural materials, preventing biodiversity loss.
5. Second-Hand Fashion Show – A festival segment dedicated to sustainable fashion, where designers create new models from discarded materials, reinforcing the reuse economy and reducing textile waste.
6. Climate resilience assessment – A comprehensive study evaluates potential risks (extreme temperatures, flooding, pollution) and outlines long-term adaptation strategies through artistic and ecological interventions.
By merging art, sustainability, and active participation, the project redefines urban space, integrating environmental consciousness into creative processes and promoting long-term resilience in public spaces.
Project Ilica: Q’ART reshapes public space through art, design, and participation, fostering deep emotional and cultural connections between citizens and their city. Through three key actions, the project transforms urban identity, strengthens community belonging, and integrates lasting artistic, cultural, and social values.
1. Mapping and activating abandoned spaces
Identifying and repurposing neglected urban areas creates new spaces for artistic expression, education, and public engagement. Citizens, artists, and designers co-create environments that become hubs for creativity, dialogue, and cultural exchange. Community libraries, art installations, and interactive performances reinforce Zagreb’s cultural identity and new aesthetic visions.
2. Artistic interventions on facades and shop windows
Through 11 urban exhibitions, Galerija Ilica merges historical and contemporary aesthetics, addressing pressing social issues and collective memory. The 2020 Red Crosses action on earthquake-damaged buildings symbolized resilience and solidarity, while ongoing exhibitions reanimate facades and vacant spaces, turning them into open-air art galleries that engage and empower the community.
3. Festival on the street – Art takes over the city
By transforming 15,000 m² of roadway into a cultural platform, the festival creates a space for collective experiences, artistic inspiration, and urban dialogue. Workshops, performances, ecological initiatives, and artistic interventions allow citizens to become co-creators of Zagreb’s evolving identity. This dynamic aesthetic emerges from the urban context itself, responding to societal and environmental changes, redefining how public space is used and experienced.
1. Mapping and activating abandoned spaces
Identifying and repurposing neglected urban areas creates new spaces for artistic expression, education, and public engagement. Citizens, artists, and designers co-create environments that become hubs for creativity, dialogue, and cultural exchange. Community libraries, art installations, and interactive performances reinforce Zagreb’s cultural identity and new aesthetic visions.
2. Artistic interventions on facades and shop windows
Through 11 urban exhibitions, Galerija Ilica merges historical and contemporary aesthetics, addressing pressing social issues and collective memory. The 2020 Red Crosses action on earthquake-damaged buildings symbolized resilience and solidarity, while ongoing exhibitions reanimate facades and vacant spaces, turning them into open-air art galleries that engage and empower the community.
3. Festival on the street – Art takes over the city
By transforming 15,000 m² of roadway into a cultural platform, the festival creates a space for collective experiences, artistic inspiration, and urban dialogue. Workshops, performances, ecological initiatives, and artistic interventions allow citizens to become co-creators of Zagreb’s evolving identity. This dynamic aesthetic emerges from the urban context itself, responding to societal and environmental changes, redefining how public space is used and experienced.
Project Ilica: Q'ART removes barriers to cultural participation, ensuring equal access to public spaces and cultural content.
Through participatory design, accessibility, and collaborative space management, we connect academic institutions, civil society, artistic organizations, the private sector, and citizens. The focus is on social cohesion, inclusivity, and intergenerational exchange, creating spaces for encounters and collective creativity.
How does the project serve as a model of best practice?
1. Multilevel engagement – We bring together diverse social actors through a dialogue on public space use, ensuring that each community actively participates in shaping its neighborhood. Every festival is co-created through participatory workshops and community research, allowing citizens to propose social and cultural content.
2. Design for all – Artistic interventions integrate existing urban contexts, using an urban collage model to preserve the character of the space. Art becomes a tool for generating new cultural values that are accessible to all.
3. Sense of belonging and social resilience – Citizens actively co-create and co-manage spaces, strengthening the community and reducing spatial and social isolation.
4. Radical inclusion and visibility – The project actively engages marginalized and vulnerable groups (homeless individuals, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ communities, migrants, Roma minorities, recovered addicts), providing them with a platform for creative expression and social integration.
5. Social entrepreneurship and microeconomy – The festival connects artists, artisans, entrepreneurs, local producers, and creative industries, fostering a new model of sustainable cultural and economic cooperation.
Project Ilica: Q’ART proves that culture belongs to everyone and that inclusive public governance can transform abandoned spaces into vibrant community hubs.
Through participatory design, accessibility, and collaborative space management, we connect academic institutions, civil society, artistic organizations, the private sector, and citizens. The focus is on social cohesion, inclusivity, and intergenerational exchange, creating spaces for encounters and collective creativity.
How does the project serve as a model of best practice?
1. Multilevel engagement – We bring together diverse social actors through a dialogue on public space use, ensuring that each community actively participates in shaping its neighborhood. Every festival is co-created through participatory workshops and community research, allowing citizens to propose social and cultural content.
2. Design for all – Artistic interventions integrate existing urban contexts, using an urban collage model to preserve the character of the space. Art becomes a tool for generating new cultural values that are accessible to all.
3. Sense of belonging and social resilience – Citizens actively co-create and co-manage spaces, strengthening the community and reducing spatial and social isolation.
4. Radical inclusion and visibility – The project actively engages marginalized and vulnerable groups (homeless individuals, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ communities, migrants, Roma minorities, recovered addicts), providing them with a platform for creative expression and social integration.
5. Social entrepreneurship and microeconomy – The festival connects artists, artisans, entrepreneurs, local producers, and creative industries, fostering a new model of sustainable cultural and economic cooperation.
Project Ilica: Q’ART proves that culture belongs to everyone and that inclusive public governance can transform abandoned spaces into vibrant community hubs.
Citizen and Civil Society Participation: Role and Impact
The Project Ilica: Q’ART empowers citizens and civil society, enabling them to take an active role in shaping their urban environment. Through open processes and artistic interventions, the project reduces social barriers and fosters inclusivity.
How are citizens and civil society engaged in the project?
1. Co-creation and content development – Each festival edition is the result of consultations with citizens, associations, and experts, who contribute to defining themes and activities.
2. Empowerment of marginalized groups – The project amplifies the voices of vulnerable communities, including homeless individuals, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, migrants, and underrepresented artistic groups, providing them with space for creative expression and social interaction.
3. Long-term impact – With over 260,000 participants and visitors over eight years and a strong public engagement message #we citizens are the city, the project enhances a sense of collective ownership over public spaces. By reinforcing awareness of shared urban environments, it encourages citizens to actively participate in urban transformations and take the initiative in launching new projects and actions.
This model strengthens social cohesion, democratizes access to culture, and transforms public spaces into vibrant community hubs.
The Project Ilica: Q’ART empowers citizens and civil society, enabling them to take an active role in shaping their urban environment. Through open processes and artistic interventions, the project reduces social barriers and fosters inclusivity.
How are citizens and civil society engaged in the project?
1. Co-creation and content development – Each festival edition is the result of consultations with citizens, associations, and experts, who contribute to defining themes and activities.
2. Empowerment of marginalized groups – The project amplifies the voices of vulnerable communities, including homeless individuals, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, migrants, and underrepresented artistic groups, providing them with space for creative expression and social interaction.
3. Long-term impact – With over 260,000 participants and visitors over eight years and a strong public engagement message #we citizens are the city, the project enhances a sense of collective ownership over public spaces. By reinforcing awareness of shared urban environments, it encourages citizens to actively participate in urban transformations and take the initiative in launching new projects and actions.
This model strengthens social cohesion, democratizes access to culture, and transforms public spaces into vibrant community hubs.
Multi-level Stakeholder Engagement: Effective Horizontal and Vertical Collaboration
The Project Ilica: Q’ART integrates stakeholders across multiple levels, ensuring the sustainability, scalability, and long-term impact of its model. By fostering effective horizontal and vertical collaboration, the project connects stakeholders with similar goals, enabling meaningful change across urban, cultural, and social contexts.
How are stakeholders engaged?
1. Local Level – Residents, local councils, artists, small businesses, and cultural organizations are directly involved in the co-design and implementation of the project, ensuring its relevance and long-term applicability.
2. Regional and National Level – Public institutions, educational organizations, and professional associations contribute expert knowledge, policy support, and capacity-building to strengthen the participatory urban regeneration model.
3. European Level – The project connects with international networks and European initiatives (e.g., Plateau Urbain-Paris) that share similar values, enabling knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, and the replication of the model in other cities.
By embedding multi-level stakeholder engagement, the project creates synergies between different sectors, ensures the resilience of urban spaces, and strengthens European cultural and ecological connectivity.
The Project Ilica: Q’ART integrates stakeholders across multiple levels, ensuring the sustainability, scalability, and long-term impact of its model. By fostering effective horizontal and vertical collaboration, the project connects stakeholders with similar goals, enabling meaningful change across urban, cultural, and social contexts.
How are stakeholders engaged?
1. Local Level – Residents, local councils, artists, small businesses, and cultural organizations are directly involved in the co-design and implementation of the project, ensuring its relevance and long-term applicability.
2. Regional and National Level – Public institutions, educational organizations, and professional associations contribute expert knowledge, policy support, and capacity-building to strengthen the participatory urban regeneration model.
3. European Level – The project connects with international networks and European initiatives (e.g., Plateau Urbain-Paris) that share similar values, enabling knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, and the replication of the model in other cities.
By embedding multi-level stakeholder engagement, the project creates synergies between different sectors, ensures the resilience of urban spaces, and strengthens European cultural and ecological connectivity.
Transdisciplinary Approach: Integrating Diverse Scientific and Creative Disciplines
The Project Ilica: Q’ART bridges art, urbanism, sustainability, and social sciences, developing innovative urban development methods through cross-sector collaboration.
Which disciplines participate in the project and how do they collaborate?
1. Interdisciplinary artistic collaboration – The project brings together artists from various disciplines and media, fostering interaction between creative fields and forming a new cultural constellation.
2. Art and design – Artists and designers create visual and spatial interventions that redefine the aesthetics of public space.
3. Ecology and design – Ecologists and fashion designers develop concepts of reuse, repurpose, and upcycle, showcased through the Second-Hand Fashion Show held in public spaces.
4. Urbanism and ecology – Urban planners and sustainability experts integrate natural elements and eco-friendly solutions into urban regeneration projects.
5. Social sciences – Sociologists and anthropologists analyze community needs and identity, ensuring that interventions are socially relevant and scientifically validated.
6. Art and public policy – Artists, policymakers, and local authorities connect artistic and urban innovations with long-term city development strategies.
The Added Value of a Transdisciplinary Approach
• Integrating knowledge and practices ensures a holistic approach to urban development, going beyond traditional cultural and artistic projects.
• Co-creation of solutions leads to environmentally and socially responsible transformations of urban spaces.
• Scalability and adaptability – This model can be replicated in other European cities seeking innovative methods for regenerating public spaces.
This transdisciplinary dialogue fosters innovative, inclusive, and sustainable urban transformations, redefining the role of public space in contemporary European cities.
The Project Ilica: Q’ART bridges art, urbanism, sustainability, and social sciences, developing innovative urban development methods through cross-sector collaboration.
Which disciplines participate in the project and how do they collaborate?
1. Interdisciplinary artistic collaboration – The project brings together artists from various disciplines and media, fostering interaction between creative fields and forming a new cultural constellation.
2. Art and design – Artists and designers create visual and spatial interventions that redefine the aesthetics of public space.
3. Ecology and design – Ecologists and fashion designers develop concepts of reuse, repurpose, and upcycle, showcased through the Second-Hand Fashion Show held in public spaces.
4. Urbanism and ecology – Urban planners and sustainability experts integrate natural elements and eco-friendly solutions into urban regeneration projects.
5. Social sciences – Sociologists and anthropologists analyze community needs and identity, ensuring that interventions are socially relevant and scientifically validated.
6. Art and public policy – Artists, policymakers, and local authorities connect artistic and urban innovations with long-term city development strategies.
The Added Value of a Transdisciplinary Approach
• Integrating knowledge and practices ensures a holistic approach to urban development, going beyond traditional cultural and artistic projects.
• Co-creation of solutions leads to environmentally and socially responsible transformations of urban spaces.
• Scalability and adaptability – This model can be replicated in other European cities seeking innovative methods for regenerating public spaces.
This transdisciplinary dialogue fosters innovative, inclusive, and sustainable urban transformations, redefining the role of public space in contemporary European cities.
Project Ilica: Q’ART introduces an innovative model of urban regeneration through art, participation, and sustainable practices.
Unlike standard cultural events, often confined to closed venues and elite audiences, this project actively engages citizens in the creative process, breaking down barriers between art and everyday life.
What makes it innovative?
1. Radical inclusivity – It empowers vulnerable groups, marginalized communities, and small entrepreneurs, redefining the social function of art.
2. Community art approach – Unlike traditional artistic projects, here, citizens are active co-creators, participating in the conceptualization and development of content.
3. Participatory urbanism – The project reactivates abandoned spaces, transforming them into cultural hubs without requiring permanent infrastructural intervention.
4. Multilevel engagement – It fosters collaboration with academic institutions, civil society, public administration, and the private sector, creating a broad and diverse network of participants.
5. Environmental responsibility – Through recycled materials, circular economy principles, and sustainable design practices, the project reduces its ecological footprint.
By shifting away from passive cultural consumption, Project Ilica: Q’ART establishes a new standard of urban participation through a transdisciplinary, inclusive, and sustainable approach.
Unlike standard cultural events, often confined to closed venues and elite audiences, this project actively engages citizens in the creative process, breaking down barriers between art and everyday life.
What makes it innovative?
1. Radical inclusivity – It empowers vulnerable groups, marginalized communities, and small entrepreneurs, redefining the social function of art.
2. Community art approach – Unlike traditional artistic projects, here, citizens are active co-creators, participating in the conceptualization and development of content.
3. Participatory urbanism – The project reactivates abandoned spaces, transforming them into cultural hubs without requiring permanent infrastructural intervention.
4. Multilevel engagement – It fosters collaboration with academic institutions, civil society, public administration, and the private sector, creating a broad and diverse network of participants.
5. Environmental responsibility – Through recycled materials, circular economy principles, and sustainable design practices, the project reduces its ecological footprint.
By shifting away from passive cultural consumption, Project Ilica: Q’ART establishes a new standard of urban participation through a transdisciplinary, inclusive, and sustainable approach.
Project Ilica: Q’ART – Methodological Approach
Project Ilica: Q’ART applies a methodology of radical inclusion, participatory design, and community art, enabling citizens and artists to take an active role in shaping public spaces and cultural content. By integrating high-quality artistic practices and critical social themes, the project establishes an aware value system and fosters individual courage in action, forming a new paradigm of urban perception and experience on one hand, and a platform for new aesthetic expressions on the other.
Key Methodological Guidelines:
• Participatory engagement process – Every phase of the project includes dialogue with the local community through workshops, research, and open forums.
• Multilevel engagement – The project connects public and private stakeholders through horizontal and vertical collaboration, ranging from cultural institutions to small businesses and citizens.
• Transdisciplinary approach – It integrates artistic, urban, ecological, and social sciences to create a long-term impact on urban development and cultural transformation.
• Temporary space activation methodology – The project revitalizes neglected urban spaces through temporary cultural and artistic interventions, serving as a testing ground for potential future uses.
Unlike traditional top-down urban development models, Project Ilica: Q’ART follows an open and horizontal process of co-creation, ensuring long-term relevance and sustainability. At the same time, it empowers community members and raises awareness of their ability to become active participants and co-creators of their urban environment.
Project Ilica: Q’ART applies a methodology of radical inclusion, participatory design, and community art, enabling citizens and artists to take an active role in shaping public spaces and cultural content. By integrating high-quality artistic practices and critical social themes, the project establishes an aware value system and fosters individual courage in action, forming a new paradigm of urban perception and experience on one hand, and a platform for new aesthetic expressions on the other.
Key Methodological Guidelines:
• Participatory engagement process – Every phase of the project includes dialogue with the local community through workshops, research, and open forums.
• Multilevel engagement – The project connects public and private stakeholders through horizontal and vertical collaboration, ranging from cultural institutions to small businesses and citizens.
• Transdisciplinary approach – It integrates artistic, urban, ecological, and social sciences to create a long-term impact on urban development and cultural transformation.
• Temporary space activation methodology – The project revitalizes neglected urban spaces through temporary cultural and artistic interventions, serving as a testing ground for potential future uses.
Unlike traditional top-down urban development models, Project Ilica: Q’ART follows an open and horizontal process of co-creation, ensuring long-term relevance and sustainability. At the same time, it empowers community members and raises awareness of their ability to become active participants and co-creators of their urban environment.
Project Ilica: Q’ART offers a scalable model of participatory urban regeneration, adaptable to various cities and contexts. The project has already successfully transferred its model to seven Zagreb districts – Maksimir, Trešnjevka, Trnjanska Savica, Siget, Bundek, Medveščak-Ribnjak, and Špansko – through workshops and community dialogue, shaping festival-actions according to the specific needs of each neighborhood. This experience demonstrates that the model is not only applicable but already being implemented in diverse communities.
Which elements are transferable to other locations?
1. Participatory management of public spaces – Adaptable to all urban environments with underutilized spaces such as squares, parks, and buildings.
2. Community art model – Strengthens local culture and connects citizens with art through collaborative creation.
3. Ecological design and circular economy – Encourages the use of recycled materials and sustainable urban practices.
4. Flexible festival format – Integrates artists, citizens, and entrepreneurs and can easily adapt to local specificities.
5. Connecting local communities with the cultural sector – Enables the adaptation of the model to various socio-economic contexts.
6. Self-organized and engaged community – The project has built a network of over 2,500 active participants, including artists, associations, entrepreneurs, and students, with strong local support.
The project empowers local actors to take long-term initiative in revitalizing public spaces and enhancing social life. Its methodology serves as an inspiration for European cities facing challenges of abandoned spaces, social fragmentation, and a lack of participatory cultural programs. The model has also demonstrated that community-driven artistic projects can significantly enhance social resilience during major societal and environmental crises, acting as a cohesive, solidarity-building, and psychological support mechanism.
Which elements are transferable to other locations?
1. Participatory management of public spaces – Adaptable to all urban environments with underutilized spaces such as squares, parks, and buildings.
2. Community art model – Strengthens local culture and connects citizens with art through collaborative creation.
3. Ecological design and circular economy – Encourages the use of recycled materials and sustainable urban practices.
4. Flexible festival format – Integrates artists, citizens, and entrepreneurs and can easily adapt to local specificities.
5. Connecting local communities with the cultural sector – Enables the adaptation of the model to various socio-economic contexts.
6. Self-organized and engaged community – The project has built a network of over 2,500 active participants, including artists, associations, entrepreneurs, and students, with strong local support.
The project empowers local actors to take long-term initiative in revitalizing public spaces and enhancing social life. Its methodology serves as an inspiration for European cities facing challenges of abandoned spaces, social fragmentation, and a lack of participatory cultural programs. The model has also demonstrated that community-driven artistic projects can significantly enhance social resilience during major societal and environmental crises, acting as a cohesive, solidarity-building, and psychological support mechanism.
Project Ilica: Q’ART addresses critical global challenges such as social alienation, urban disintegration, exclusion of social and natural diversity, climate change, social inequality, and the sustainability of cultural spaces. This participatory and inclusive community art model, through its flexibility and agility in artistic activism, enhances citizens’ resilience during major social and environmental crises by fostering cohesion, solidarity, and psychological well-being.
Which global challenges does the project tackle?
• Strengthening community resilience – By actively shaping public spaces, citizens develop stronger social bonds with each other and their city, enhancing long-term social resilience.
• Revitalization of abandoned urban areas – Instead of traditional investment-heavy models requiring large financial resources, the project leverages art and participation as powerful tools for urban regeneration, creating a flexible network of small initiatives that collectively drive significant impact and change.
• Ecological sustainability in culture – The project implements circular economy principles such as upcycling, reusing, and repurposing materials, encourages the use of sustainable design practices, and supports local organic farmers, promoting short supply chains and environmentally conscious production.
• Social inclusion and equal access to culture – Provides a platform for artists, artisans, and citizens from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, with a special focus on marginalized communities.
• Boosting the local micro-economy – By supporting micro-entrepreneurs, creative industries, and local producers, the festival establishes a new model of economic sustainability in the cultural sector.
Project Ilica: Q’ART demonstrates how innovative participatory models can generate sustainable solutions that are simultaneously ecological, inclusive, and aesthetically valuable, offering a scalable and impactful alternative for cities worldwide.
Which global challenges does the project tackle?
• Strengthening community resilience – By actively shaping public spaces, citizens develop stronger social bonds with each other and their city, enhancing long-term social resilience.
• Revitalization of abandoned urban areas – Instead of traditional investment-heavy models requiring large financial resources, the project leverages art and participation as powerful tools for urban regeneration, creating a flexible network of small initiatives that collectively drive significant impact and change.
• Ecological sustainability in culture – The project implements circular economy principles such as upcycling, reusing, and repurposing materials, encourages the use of sustainable design practices, and supports local organic farmers, promoting short supply chains and environmentally conscious production.
• Social inclusion and equal access to culture – Provides a platform for artists, artisans, and citizens from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, with a special focus on marginalized communities.
• Boosting the local micro-economy – By supporting micro-entrepreneurs, creative industries, and local producers, the festival establishes a new model of economic sustainability in the cultural sector.
Project Ilica: Q’ART demonstrates how innovative participatory models can generate sustainable solutions that are simultaneously ecological, inclusive, and aesthetically valuable, offering a scalable and impactful alternative for cities worldwide.
Project Ilica: Q’ART has demonstrated a measurable and lasting impact on urban regeneration, community engagement, and cultural participation. By activating abandoned spaces, fostering participatory urbanism, and promoting inclusivity, the project has transformed both the physical and social fabric of the city.
Key Achievements and Impact
Urban Activation and Regeneration
• Revitalized 18 abandoned spaces in the city center.
• First festival worldwide to be held less than a month after the COVID-19 lockdown and ZG earthquake, proving the model’s resilience and adaptability.
Cultural and Artistic Production
• 26 festivals (19 in Ilica and 7 in other city districts).
• 11 urban exhibitions and 31 indoor exhibitions.
• 58 creative workshops fostering skills, sustainability, and cultural exchange.
• 26 expert talks and 22 performances engaging diverse audiences.
• 32 film screenings, bringing socially relevant narratives into public space.
• 129 live music performances, enriching the cultural scene.
• 14 Second Hand fashion shows, promoting circular economy and sustainable fashion.
Community and Institutional Engagement
• 2,583 artists, exhibitors, and participants from across Croatia and the world.
• Established collaborations with over 45 institutions in Croatia and across EU.
• Each festival attracts over 15,000 visitors, proving high community engagement and demand for participatory culture.
Publications and Research Contributions
• Readymade 01 - ILICA magazine (2017), Thematizes urban revitalization.
• Elaborate on Urban Revitalization through Participatory Management (2017), providing a strategic framework.
• Book: Project Ilica: Q’ART (2018), a case study of community art.
• Book: Social Processes: The City as an Organism (2022), interconnectedness of urban environments and community dynamics.
• Climate Resilience Report (2024), assessing the project’s capacity to adapt to climate change and support sustainable urban development.
Key Achievements and Impact
Urban Activation and Regeneration
• Revitalized 18 abandoned spaces in the city center.
• First festival worldwide to be held less than a month after the COVID-19 lockdown and ZG earthquake, proving the model’s resilience and adaptability.
Cultural and Artistic Production
• 26 festivals (19 in Ilica and 7 in other city districts).
• 11 urban exhibitions and 31 indoor exhibitions.
• 58 creative workshops fostering skills, sustainability, and cultural exchange.
• 26 expert talks and 22 performances engaging diverse audiences.
• 32 film screenings, bringing socially relevant narratives into public space.
• 129 live music performances, enriching the cultural scene.
• 14 Second Hand fashion shows, promoting circular economy and sustainable fashion.
Community and Institutional Engagement
• 2,583 artists, exhibitors, and participants from across Croatia and the world.
• Established collaborations with over 45 institutions in Croatia and across EU.
• Each festival attracts over 15,000 visitors, proving high community engagement and demand for participatory culture.
Publications and Research Contributions
• Readymade 01 - ILICA magazine (2017), Thematizes urban revitalization.
• Elaborate on Urban Revitalization through Participatory Management (2017), providing a strategic framework.
• Book: Project Ilica: Q’ART (2018), a case study of community art.
• Book: Social Processes: The City as an Organism (2022), interconnectedness of urban environments and community dynamics.
• Climate Resilience Report (2024), assessing the project’s capacity to adapt to climate change and support sustainable urban development.
