Digital Inter/Section Case Study 3⎜Kontejner, experiments with sustainable venue management

How can digital arts organisations bring in a business mindset while maintaining artistic integrity as major producers of digital art? DI/S – Digital Inter/Section, a multiyear project supported by Creative Europe, is releasing four case studies of new business models for digital arts organisations and the creative sector. Some of the key finds include a strong audience perspective and that funding through a diversification of income streams, independent of public or private funding, creates stability and sustainability. Third case study: Kontejner, Experiments with sustainable venue management.

The Zagreb case study revolves around experimenting with economic sustainability and community engagement for Kontejner’s new venue, a small centre for contemporary art practices. The goal for Kontejner was to create more sustainable and diversified funding to support its new venue, and to foster community development by reaching new audiences and partners, and converting them into supporters of the venue.  

A key takeaway from this case study is that innovative practices and development can be turned into a catalyst for a new organisational ecosystem that favours circular economy models and social entrepreneurship, generating new benefits for the broader cultural sector.

KONTEJNER – Experiments with sustainable venue management

KONTEJNER is an NGO with core activities in production of artworks and cultural events such as festivals and exhibitions, educational programmes and publishing. Through DI/S pilot project, the NGO created its own company named Izvan kontejnera d.o.o. as a new business extending the existing organizational model. It enables us to experiment with moving away from the grant-based financing of the venue infrastructure towards achieving more self-suffciency and economic sustainability.

The new venue + new company combination also opened the door for creating new relations with audiences and partners. Instead of working with “usual suspects” from the cultural/creative, academic and scientific sector, in this pilot we collaborate with new partners from the business sector such as private companies, professional associations and corporations. We work with new partners that share our values and experiment with collaborations going beyond sponsorship and asset exchange. At the same time, we create new ways for audiences to support the new venue, from standardized ticketing and merchandise, to more engaging and innovative memberships and subscriptions packages.

The purpose of this pilot was to gain more economic agility and sustainability, and accompany the growth in resources with innovative and experimental actions widening our circle of partners and audiences. The organization becomes more ready to adopt circular economy models and transform its newly founded business into a social entrepreneurship endeavor – where income is invested back not only to the activities of the organizations, but to the wider cultural and creative sector.

Our main target groups are international and local companies, corporations and new partner organizations with values and development strategies similar to ours, such as support to the contemporary artistic and cultural sector, entrepreneurial projects, integration of new technologies and science, repurposing and creating new values in the existing products, and engagement in the civil society area. We also target our neighbours and local citizens as specific segments of our audiences, since our newly established venue needs to build its identity, attract attention and give new purpose to the renovated industrial location where the venue is situated.

Key partners supporting the project

• 200C company and communication expert Jadrana Curkovic (Zagreb): business sector partnership, branding strategy, strategic planning, marketing and business expert consultation through the entire project.
• Production collective consisting of SME’s Kolot obrt by industrial designer Jakov Habjan, Sto osamdeset by Maxime Wein, and designers William Linn and Hrvoje Spudic (Zagreb, San Francisco) – technical support for guest programmes at KONTEJNER, upgrade of equipment and general space conditions, design of the multipurpose outdoor space furniture.
• Samsung corporation (international): new sponsorship for the venue and potential new partnership for collaborative activities (digital art commissions for Samsung products)
• Kuna zlatica design studio (Zagreb): authors of the visual identity for KONTEJNER venue awarded with European design award in 2024 for company logo. Partners for custom merchandise, design of tickets, publications and other sellable items to activate the on-site shop.
• HURA – The Croatian Association of Communications Agencies, leading industry association with 62 agencies as members, one of the first and already a potential long-term client for KONTEJNER’s new company.

Competition and uniqueness

Competitors: cultural centres, creative hubs open for public, art galleries, multipurpose studio spaces for sub renting, concert

Venues. Points of differentiation: offering turnkey solution for guest clients working in the space, high quality design interior and facilities, integrated sustainability practices (revitalized abandoned industry space, reused materials and upcycling in interior), edgy and exciting profile of the venue, good location and easy access form different city areas, quality tech equipment and expert tech support team, different functional zones in the space (bar, shop, central area), good advertising opportunities in the space (digital screens).

Strategic approach

For this pilot to happen, we needed to establish, renovate and open the new KONTEJNER venue – a process that was done through the project Future DiverCities. In parallel, we were doing the following DI/S pilot actions:

Company set-up

• Budget planning and financial strategy: income, costs and balance projections for a period of 3 years for the new company
• Founding the company as a new legal entity – admin and legal procedures, work permissions, legal documentation
• Establishing selling and payment procedures, permissions, billing devices and sta&, card payment procedures, invoicing, stocks and inventory
• Initiate new bookkeeping for profit organizations and new banking procedures

Reaching clients to host in the space

• Creating a curated address book with contacts within specific targeted segments: event agencies, production and media houses, advertising and PR agencies, sponsor companies and existing partners, freelance creatives, design and fashion brands
• Establishing a price range for the services on the basis of research and communication with over 40 subjects having a similar business endeavour as ours
• Doing the campaign: contacting everyone from the address book, sending newsletters, direct e-mailing, promoting on-line and in social media
• Writing a contract template for the clients with an integrated tech-rider check-list
• Organizing booking calendar and the team – redistribution of management tasks and coordination with KONTEJNER’s own programmes in the venue
• Kick off with first clients using the space for their programme
• Feedback, analysis and reflection, pivoting (price range, type of activities hosted in the space, visibility and promotion etc.)

Plans for driving Community Engagement

• Design of multifunctional furniture for outdoor space of the venue to interconnect the inside space with the neighbourhood: working with architects and designers, production of mock-up pieces, acquiring permissions from landlords, pitch presentations
• Design of paid membership and subscription packages for citizens offering new access and participation opportunities
• Design of B2B project for a corporate partner based on their products and used as a vehicle for digital art dissemination
• Design of new KONTEJNER-branded merchandise for audiences and visitors.

Sustainability

• Economic sustainability – a key pillar in our pilot project. It is based on achieving circular economy principles in our company and growing the social entrepreneurship approach that brings benefits to both the organization and wider cultural sector.
• Ecological sustainability – reuse of materials and equipment, sustainable technological solutions and design in upgrading the space conditions and in the work with clients (event set-ups, custom furniture and design etc.).
• This is achieved through collaboration with a production workshop/collective located near the venue – a team with a strong sustainability driven, upcycling approach.
• Sustainability-oriented partners – we prioritize collaboration with sustainability-oriented businesses, giving booking priority and pricing flexibility to agencies and companies committed to sustainable solutions in their fields. At the same time, we actively seek new collaboration opportunities with private companies and enterprises that align with our values, particularly those that incorporate social responsibility into their core strategies.

Lessons learned

To know about the lessons learned, and a complete case study about KONTEJNER, download it on DI/S – Digital Inter/Section’s website.