Turning places into cultural destinations through artist-led initiatives

Dochao Office helps turn places into cultural destinations: places people value, use and return to. We bring artists into the early stages of regeneration and neighbourhood design, translating local needs and consortium objectives into original commissions, participatory processes and public experiences that can be tested, evaluated and adapted across locations.

Based in London and led by Carlota d’Ursel, Dochao Office is seeking to join an established New European Bauhaus consortium as its cultural and creative practice partner.

Our strongest fit is HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-03 and HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-02, with a complementary role in HORIZON-NEB-2026-01-PARTICIPATION-03.

For BUSINESS-03, we can bring both a cultural and commercial lens to the reuse of vacant, obsolete or underutilised sites and buildings. Our contribution could include assessing a site’s cultural potential alongside local needs; co-creating possible uses with inhabitants; identifying artists and cultural operators; developing site-specific briefs and commissions; and testing temporary and long-term cultural uses.

We can also explore how artist-led experiences can act as anchors for footfall, dwell time and repeat visits while supporting the local economy. Where appropriate, pilots could combine free community programming with revenue-generating uses such as ticketed cultural experiences, live music, dining, events and partnerships. Working with public, property, finance, cultural and research partners, we can help develop and evaluate mixed-use models that are locally relevant, inclusive and financially viable beyond the grant period.

For PARTICIPATION-02, we can bring artists and cultural practitioners into the spatial design of public spaces as active co-design partners. Working with architects and spatial planners, we can develop workshops, commissions and prototypes that reveal how different groups use and experience a place, then translate those insights into compelling public interventions.

This approach can help explore accessibility, safety, identity, beauty, multisensory experience, civic engagement and belonging. It can also make spatial transformation visible and meaningful to inhabitants while producing creative approaches that can be demonstrated and adapted across several neighbourhoods.

For PARTICIPATION-03, we can work alongside health, social science and evaluation partners to design artist-led interventions through which inhabitants’ sensory and emotional experiences of their neighbourhood can be explored. We can help engage diverse groups, create public-facing pilots and translate research findings into practical recommendations for local authorities and the artistic, cultural and heritage sectors.

A potential work package could include:

• Cultural and place strategy

• Artist identification, briefing and commission development

• Participatory workshops and community engagement

• Development and delivery of site-specific pilots

• Partnerships with cultural institutions, property owners, brands and technology partners

• Public communication and dissemination

Carlota’s experience includes projects with Superblue Miami, Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), NASA, Google Arts & Culture, Julius Baer, Art Basel, Salone del Mobile, and artist-led projects involving JR, DRIFT, teamLab, James Turrell, Es Devlin, Random International and architects such as Sou Fujimoto. Her work connects artists with institutions, developers, brands and technical teams, from early concept and artist selection through negotiation and delivery.

She is also the co-founder of Notting Hill Neighbours, a growing community platform in London with more than 1,600 members, providing direct experience of neighbourhood engagement, local partnerships and community-led cultural programming.

We would be most useful in a consortium that already includes a coordinator, local authorities or site partners, architecture and spatial-planning expertise, environmental specialists, and research and evaluation partners. We are seeking a clear, funded role covering cultural strategy, co-creation, artist commissioning and pilot delivery.

Please contact Carlota directly at carlota@dochao.art