What is the Creative Land
Trust Summit?
This multi-day event brings together leaders of creative land trusts and similar organisations who are working to secure permanent space for culture and culture-bearers in our cities, alongside committed funders.
The San Francisco 2025 summit established a global baseline — surfacing the diversity of models, building shared language, and forming a community of practice. Helsinki 2026 moves from introduction to practice. We are no longer asking what models exist, but what have we learned, what has evolved, and how can we help each other scale collective impact through collaboration and shared learning
Why Helsinki
We are going to Helsinki to discover Kaapeli — one of Europe's most significant examples of a creative land trust in practice. A former Nokia cable factory now home to hundreds of artists and creative organisations, all accessing affordable space through a model that is publicly anchored but operationally independent. Kaapeli is not just a venue. It is the argument. Convening here puts us inside a living example of what permanence looks like when it works — and gives us the rare opportunity to learn from it directly.
The three themes:
TOWARDS PERMANENCE
Transactions and capitalisation
Securing permanent space for culture ultimately comes down to deals — how they are structured, how capital is blended, and how assets are protected over time. This theme goes deep into the mechanics: the transaction models practitioners have used, the financing strategies that have worked and those that haven't, and the approaches that have kept mission intact when commercial pressures mount.
Governance and succession
Permanence is not only a financial question — it is a governance one. Who holds decision rights? How is mission locked when leadership changes? What happens when the founding generation moves on? This theme examines the structures that make organisations resilient over time, drawing on experience from creative land trusts as well as housing, indigenous land stewardship, and community finance.
Community accountability and impact
The legitimacy of permanent cultural space depends on being able to answer hard questions and managing a shifting relationship with the community: who does this serve, how do you know, and how do you prove it? This theme explores how organisations demonstrate accountability to the communities they exist for, how they respond to their evolving needs and how they measure what actually matters — not just what is easy to count.
What to expect
Three and a half days of discovery, learning, sharing, and planning with a global cohort of people doing the hard work of making permanent space for culture. There will be a diversity of session types that break away from typical conversations to get delegates to share live and deep insight. The summit will be held primarily at Kaapelitehdas, with time built in to engage with Helsinki's broader cultural ecosystem. Artistic contributions curated by the Kaapeli team — from tenant artists and beyond — will punctuate the programme throughout.
The summit will unfold as follows:
- Monday 14 September — Helsinki cultural tour, in-depth visit of Kaapelitehdas led by Kai Huotari, buddy programme kick-off, welcome drinks and dinner at Hima and Sali restaurant
- Tuesday 15 September — Honesty — Official welcome, keynote, community of practice launch, parallel sessions on what we've learned and changed, free evening
- Wednesday 16 September — Craft — Technical masterclasses, cross-sector dialogue, clinics in parallel sessions, group dinner at Peloton Eatery
- Thursday 17 September — Commitment — Funder panel, forward reflections, World Café to set the twelve-month agenda, closing
- Friday 18 September — Tallinn — Optional day trip: ferry to Tallinn, visit to Telliskivi Creative City, lunch on site, return late afternoon. Please indicate your interest in the registration form.
- Saturday 19 September — Funders only — A one-day extension for funding institutions: inspiration, peer networking, and an exploration of strategies and approaches that unlock capital for permanent space for culture.
Full speaker and session details will be published as the programme is confirmed
Who will be there
Returning participants from San Francisco 2025 alongside new voices — practitioners, funders, and cross-sector experts from housing, community development finance, and indigenous land stewardship, with a strong focus on European organisations. An intimate group of approximately 80 people.
Coming soon
- Artistic performances curated by the Kaapeli team
- Speakers and contributors
- Full summit programme
Details will be published as the programme is confirmed. Check back soon.
The venue
Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory) Kaapeliaukio 3, 00180 Helsinki
The Creative Land Trust Summit 2026 is hosted by Kaapeli at its flagship venue Kaapelitehdas — a former Nokia cable factory now home to hundreds of creative organisations and artists, all accessing affordable space through Kaapeli, a fully owned but financially independent subsidiary of the City of Helsinki.
Getting here: Metro: Ruoholahti (600m) · Tram: line 8 (stop Kaapelitehdas) · Bus: lines 21, 21N, 22, 26, 112N (stop Salmisaari)
Costs
If you represent a creative land trust or are a creative land trust practitioner:
Travel accommodation, and most meals for the core summit period are covered by the central event budget. Additional expenses, including visa costs and personal upgrades, are at your own cost.
If you represent a funding institution:
You are responsible for your own travel and accommodation costs. Meals and local transport throughout the summit are included, as is the optional Tallinn day trip.
Produced and facilitated by
Michelle Tabet
Director and Founder,
Left Bank Co. (Sydney)
Anne Gatling Haynes
Director and Founder,
Hyperplaced LLC (Boston)
Curator Sara Turnbull
Director and Founder,
WorkWild (Wales)
Supported by
How to apply to register
Demand for the summit is strong and spaces are limited. We will give preference to delegates proposing engaging, relevant session contributions, which means there is a small chance your application may be waitlisted or not accepted.
Complete the registration application by clicking button below before May 29, 2026 and include a compelling session idea or topic. You will be notified by email whether your application has been accepted, waitlisted, or is unsuccessful.
For questions, contact clts@krfoundation.org.
Please note: if your registration is accepted, you will be liable for all costs that cannot be recovered in the event of cancellation. Please consider your availability and obligations carefully before applying.