In 2013, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation partnered with Community Vision to launch the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) as a long-term solution to the Bay Area’s real estate challenges for arts and cultural organizations. As CAST experienced early successes and gained traction, we shared what we were learning with city and arts leaders regionally and nationally. Over time, these conversations led to new solutions.
In 2018, the World Cities Culture Forum highlighted CAST at its annual summit. This inspired London to launch its Creative Land Trust. From there, efforts to establish similar creative land trust models ignited in major cities across the UK, Australia, Canada and the US. Today, creative land trusts have evolved from a set of isolated experiments into a worldwide movement.
In an effort to build a community of practice, the Rainin Foundation partnered with Left Bank Co. and World Cities Culture Forum to create the Creative Land Trust Summit. The inaugural event, hosted in San Francisco in May 2025, brought together leaders from across the world to share learnings and create a global community of practice among those who work innovatively to protect space for arts and culture in their cities. Attendees included practitioners, funders, government and city representatives, policy experts, developers and advocates representing seven countries and more than 20 cities.
Today, this peer network continues to be in community through online engagement and in-person convenings. The next Creative Land Trust Summit will take place in Helsinki, Finland in 2026.
Catalyzing A Global Movement To Safeguard Arts And Culture
The first Creative Land Trust Summit was a four-day gathering where participants exchanged innovative ideas and learned from one another. Explore event insights and what’s next for this collaborative network.
Resources
- Explore “Creative Land Trusts: A Practical Guide – How to hardwire affordable creative workspace and artists’ studios in your city” (PDF), a World Cities Culture Forum publication based on research by Left Bank Co, that shows how global cities are securing long-term space for arts and culture.
- Watch highlights from the inaugural Creative Land Trust Summit.
- Hear insights from Kai Huotari, Managing Director of KAAPELI, on creative land trusts. Founded in 1991, KAAPELI is a City of Helskini-owned real estate company managing nearly 100,000 squared meters of creative workspace.
- Hear insights from Lisa Colley, Manager of Cultural Strategy for the City of Sydney. Between 2012-2022, Sydney lost over 1,861,000 square feet of creative workspace. To address this, the city is taking bold steps to establish its own creative land trust, ensuring artists and cultural organizations have access to the affordable spaces they need to thrive.
- Hear from Ken Ikeda, Director of CAST, on how they’re preserving creative spaces in San Francisco amidst rising real estate pressures. Since 2013, CAST has secured over 86,000 square feet of performance, studio and rehearsal space for Bay Area artists and organizations—ensuring that the city’s vibrant arts community remains anchored in the region.
