Cultural Rights Lab at Nau Bostik
Associació Cultural Nau Bostik
Spain
The Cultural Rights Lab at Nau Bostik is a participatory project exploring culture as a fundamental right and a tool for democracy. Through workshops, debates and artistic actions, the project will activate a cultural space where citizens, artists and local organisations can reflect on cultural rights, urban change and collective governance. Conceived as a pilot experience, the project explores how cultural centres can act as spaces for democratic participation in a neighbourhood facing urban transformation, strengthening inclusion and reinforcing the role of culture as a civic practice.
The Cultural Rights Lab is a participatory project exploring cultural rights as a key element of democracy. Nau Bostik is a former industrial factory in Barcelona transformed by citizens into a community cultural centre and located in a neighbourhood undergoing major urban transformation, where it has become a meeting point for artists, social organisations and residents.
The project will create a cultural lab combining workshops, public debates and collective artistic actions where participants reflect on cultural rights through the concrete topic of urban change and the right of citizens, both local and migrant, to shape the future of their neighbourhoods. Activities will involve young people, migrant communities, cultural workers and neighbourhood groups, encouraging participation and dialogue. The lab will take place during a weekend in October 2026, with preparation from July to October 2026.
By activating culture as a shared civic practice, the project strengthens social inclusion and democratic engagement, connecting local experience with wider European debates on cultural rights, the right to the city and grassroots cultural centres.