Valorising Artist-led Innovation through Citizen Engagement (VOICE)

VOICE aims to address the complex social and cultural constructs that play a vital role in knowledge valorisation and supporting systemic change in societal response to environmental and ecological sustainability. Arts and cultural institutions can act as a platform for collaboration between citizens, industry, and other stakeholders, both by providing a cultural space for dialogue and by integrating diverse creative expressions and digital innovation in 'real world' contexts to enhance co-creation with citizens and industry. Acting in a coordinated manner with shared aims, definitions, intentions and with an Inclusive Design methodology underpinning all engagements, it is possible to showcase innovative approaches to sustainable design, production, and consumption that can inspire citizens and industry to think creatively and differently about sustainability challenges. VOICE proposes a distinct approach framed as ‘artist-driven’ interventions to enable multi-stakeholder communities to engage in dialogue but also collaborate for co-designed green and digital solutions to remedy regional or local challenges related to environmental and ecological sustainability and leading to a more resilient ecosystem. Formulated as Art-Technology-Society Interactions(ATSI), these initiatives will form the backbone of artist-led interventions as platforms for dialogue, knowledge exchange and transfer among the key players/stakeholders in the VOICE ecosystem.