CO-VISION Guidelines for Creative Exchange

A guideline document that integrates the project Blueprint, meant to support the valorisation of natural heritage via participatory and co-creative dynamics. Conceived not as a fixed methodology but as a flexible, evolving process, it suggests various ways in which Creative Exchange can be deployed rather than prescribing a pathway, emphasising critical reflection on key aspects: cultural policy paradigms (Bonet & Négrier, 2018), the space and spectrum of co-creation (De Koning et al., 2016) and the participation ladder (Arnstein, 1969). It covers recording (three scenarios with different depths of documentation and tools), mapping creative exchanges, and the CO-VISION framework for creative exchange: involving professionals (natural heritage and policy experts), involving citizens, selecting artists (international/local), and supporting the process through facilitation. Three facilitator scenarios are described — moderator (negotiation), guide (education/feedback) and midwife (emergent, non-hierarchical co-creation). The first version was shared with Artistic Partners in early 2024 as a baseline for the Local Debates; after two rounds of LDs, feedback prompted a revised v2 with complementary materials, collaboratively developed in the first half of 2026.