How do cultural institutions and festivals contribute to sustainable development? An interpretive review of the academic and practitioner literature

This paper explores how cultural institutions and festivals contribute to sustainable development by combining insights from academic and practitioner literature. Through an interpretive review of 81 academic articles and 33 practitioner documents, we identify two main findings: 1) three mechanisms – connecting, caring, and empowering – through which cultural institutions and festivals generate value across economic, cultural, social, and environmental dimensions; 2) four policy areas – value creation, equity and resilience, education and training, and participatory governance – across which policymakers leverage cultural institutions and festivals to pursue sustainability-oriented policies. By bridging scholarly and practitioner perspectives, the study provides a more nuanced understanding of the multifaceted role of culture in advancing sustainable development and offers relevant insights for researchers, policymakers, and cultural managers.