Arcadia is the legacy programme of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018, European Capital of Culture. Since 2025, Arcadia has been working within the European network ECoC Echo together with eight other cities that have held, hold, or will hold the title of European…
Arcadia is the legacy programme of Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018, European Capital of Culture. Since 2025, Arcadia has been working within the European network ECoC Echo together with eight other cities that have held, hold, or will hold the title of European Capital of Culture.
ECoC Echo is a European cooperation project, co-funded by the Interreg Europe programme. Nine cities work together in the network: Leeuwarden-Fryslân (2018), Novi Sad (2022), Veszprém-Balaton (2023), Tartu (2024), Chemnitz (2025), Oulu (2026), Liepāja (2027), Évora (2027) and Bourges (2028). Together, these cities are looking for answers to the same question: how do you make sure the momentum of a title year doesn’t disappear once the celebrations are over, but keeps growing instead?
What made Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018 so strong was the involvement of so many people. Artists, residents, villages and organisations brought their own ideas, projects and stories. That’s how the year grew into a major programme of and for the mienskip (community). Arcadia now brings that way of working — building with the mienskip, rather than for it — into ECoC Echo. Other participating cities are looking, each in their own way, at how to organise something like this together, and we learn from each other how to make it last longer.
In a new video, participants from all the participating countries explain in their own words why this network matters to them. They show how different their cities are, and how recognisable the search for a culture that keeps having an effect really is.
From 19 to 21 May, the network came together in Novi Sad, Serbia, which itself was European Capital of Culture in 2022. During this three-day gathering, themes such as international cooperation, urban renewal, spreading culture across the city, and sustainable management of cultural heritage took centre stage. Novi Sad’s approach is cited by the European Commission as a good example. Participants visited several renewed cultural venues in the city and spoke with representatives of former, current and future Capitals of Culture about how they’re shaping their own legacy.
Every participating city organises a multi-day gathering within the network. Previous ones took place in Veszprém and Leeuwarden; after Novi Sad, it’s Chemnitz’s turn.
This year, Arcadia is working with the Netwerk Cultuur & Natuur (Culture & Nature Network) on a development trajectory for artist Marije Dijkstra. This network brings together artists, scientists and landscape partners around one question: how can artists help us…
For the research by Arcadia and the University of Groningen, Carmen van Bruggen is exploring the strength of the mienskip (community) — the Frisian word for community spirit. She’s also looking beyond the borders of Fryslân. Because how does this…
Fryslân Bloeit keeps growing: in 2026 it already counts 35 affiliated villages and neighbourhoods that organise a Bloeiweek (Blooming Week), have organised one before, or have even set up a full Bloeimaand (Blooming Month). During a Bloeiweek, connection, health, creativity…