Sites of ACT UP!
ACT UP! is being developed and implemented in five cities: Groningen, Oslo, Narva, Viljandi, and Cape Town. These sites serve as the inspiration for designing performance-based interventions that respond to distinct social, political, and environmental contexts.
Read more about the sites of ACT UP! below:
Groningen
Groningen has a rich history spanning more than 980 years, and is the largest urban centre in the north of the Netherlands.As part of the former Hanseatic trading network, Groningen’s medieval legacy can be seen today through the historic warehouses that line the city’s canals. With a population of over 240,000, and a high concentration of students (a fourth of its population), Groningen is the youngest city in the country demographically. Described as the ‘capital of the north,’ the city has a vibrant cultural scene, and is internationally recognised for Eurosonic Noorderslag, a music showcase festival for European talent.
In the broader national context, Groningen is relatively peripheral in relation to the economic and political concentration of the Randstad. This spatial imbalance is evident in the region’s role in natural gas extraction. Home to Europe’s largest natural gas field, extraction in the province of Groningen ran from 1963 to 2024. While gas revenues supported the development of the Dutch welfare state, the associated risks, including the structural damage of induced seismic activity to homes, was concentrated locally. The 2012 Huizinge earthquake, measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale, brought national attention to the social, political, and environmental consequences of the region's gas extraction. These events have since become central to broader national debates on renewable energy sources, climate policy, and spatial justice.
Today, Groningen navigates a complex new identity. While large-scale gas extraction officially ceased in 2023, small-scale operations will continue until 2032 due to concerns surrounding energy security and geopolitical developments, highlighting the ongoing tension between regional and national priorities. At the same time, Groningen is positioning itself as a leader in renewable energy. Home to two Hydrogen Valleys, in Zernike and Delfzijl, the region is pioneering hydrogen development and contributing to the Netherlands’ broader climate ambitions. Groningen’s urban space tells a story of physical and environmental damage, resistance, and reinvention in the wake of induced seismic activity. Against this backdrop, the city emerges as a valuable site for examining the intersection of politics, climate, justice, and culture.
Photo: Robin Hiltl
Oslo
Oslo is the capital of Norway - a country well rooted in a consensus based democracy that is characterized by high levels of political and social trust (Transparency International Norge, 2021). Norway is proud of being a climate leader. In 1987, the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, led the work on developing the Brundtland report “Our Common Future” who popularized the term “sustainable development” world-wide. The average Norwegian is known for loving nature and its 5,5 million inhabitants are known for adopting clean technologies faster than anyone else. Oslo, for instance, was the first public authority to set a target of zero-emissions construction sites, encouraging manufacturers to bring electric construction machinery on to the market that can help decarbonise building sites around the world.
At the same time, Norway is a major oil and gas exporter, digging up more petroleum per person than Russians, Iranians, North Americans and Saudi Arabians. The Norwegian branch of campaign group Greenpeace, Frode Pleym, says: “Norway claims to be a climate leader, but in reality it is a climate hypocrite. If Norway were an advertising agency, they would indeed be deemed to be very successful” (the Guardian, 26.07.2024). This situation is often referred to as “the Norwegian paradox” in which Norway is branding itself to be a climate leader on the one hand and a major oil and gas exporter on the other. This paradox puts Norway in a position of tension between the economic interest of the oil and gas industry and commitments to global reduction targets.
Oslo is, perhaps, the place where this tension is made visible through the organization of climate protests against, for example, the expansion of the oil and gas industry and the erection of windfarms at locations of Indigenous reindeer husbandry, on the one hand, and the presence of green energy branding campaigns promoting, for example, the development of “clean” energy and technologies on the other. Urban space in Oslo, then, becomes a conflictual arena in which divergent discourses on climate change compete for attention.
Photo: Casper Nielsen
Viljandi
Viljandi, a former Hanseatic town and the sixth-largest city in Estonia (17,000 inhabitants), is located in the country’s southern region. The sleepy town known for its wooden architecture and scenic landscapes has three cultural pillars livening its cultural life – University of Tartu’s Viljandi Culture Academy, Theatre Ugala and Traditional Music Centre. The three institutions collaborate frequently.
Thereby Viljandi’s cultural life has a wide range of events—from the Dance Week, which celebrates movement from ballet to contemporary dance, to the renowned Viljandi Folk Music Festival that brings together traditional music from Estonia and beyond. These cultural events have also been leading ground in environmentally friendly cultural management with Viljandi Folk Music Festival being one of the first to drastically reduce waste in festival organisation.
While public space in the city has hosted creative experiments—especially those initiated by the Culture Academy—these interventions tend to be one-off events rather than consistent, long-term systematic practices. Locals might be accustomed to the occasional “weird thing” happening around the town, but the idea of public space as a tool for systemic impact is still far from established.
This reflects a broader national issue. In Estonia, public space has largely been overlooked in legal frameworks and urban planning strategies. The 2019/2020 Estonian Human Development Report formally acknowledged the poor condition of public space and emphasising the need for accessible and inviting public spaces to increase social cohesion. Thereby ACT UP! needs to tackle two challenges at once: activating underused public spaces, and raising awareness about climate change—particularly in areas like Viljandi, where the impacts of the climate crisis are not yet immediately visible.
Photo: Siim Verner Teder
Narva
Narva is Estonia’s third biggest city with the population of 52,000 at the border between Russia and Estonia, i.e. also the European Union and NATO. 94% of the people living there speak Russian, making it one of the largest Russian-speaking places in the EU by proportion of population. Only half of the population are Estonian citizens.
For centuries, Narva has been a border crossing and meeting point for different nations and states. In Viking times the trade route named „The Way from Varangians to Greeks“ started here, later Narva was an important staging post on the road from Tallinn to Novgorod. In 1345 the trading settlement was granted town status. Since the 1850s Narva has been a major cotton textile centre.
Narva’s golden age was in the 17th century under the Swedish rule when the downtown area with its unique architecture was built. Unfortunately, Narva was nearly completely destroyed in 1944 during World War II. During the Soviet era (1944–1991), the city’s original inhabitants were not permitted to return, and immigrant workers from all places of the Soviet Union were introduced. Large large-scale industrial developments, like the restoration of Kreenholm Manufacture and establishment of heavy industry factories, were the driving force behind the influx of migrants. After the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, the factories were closed down one after another causing heavy unemployment and other social problems.
Narva’s geographic region has been an important area for underground coal mining and the three of the world's largest oil shale-fired power plants in the region provide over 90% of the electricity produced in Estonia. The European Green Deal and other policies that aim to reduce the CO2 emissions have greatly impacted the economic structures of the region, creating distress with the central government. Even though special programs like the EU Just Transition Platform have been established to improve new economic structures, the area as a whole is going through big changes.
Photo: Andres Meesak
Cape Town
Cape Town is a city of striking contrasts. The city emerged through colonial invasion and established as a refreshment station by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 and its colonial past set the stage for centuries of dispossession, forced labour, and racial hierarchies. Under British rule and later apartheid, Cape Town was further transformed by segregationist policies that forcibly removed Black, Coloured, and Indian residents from central neighbourhoods such as District Six, relocating them to distant, under-resourced townships under the 1950 Group Areas Act.
Apartheid’s legacy is deeply etched into the urban fabric. Inequalities in housing, education, infrastructure, and access to opportunity remain stark. Many residents continue to live far from economic hubs and under- or unemployment is high. Cape Town also faces challenges such as gang violence, water scarcity, climate vulnerability, and xenophobia. Land restitution and spatial justice are ongoing struggles, with many communities still fighting for the return of their homes and dignity.
While challenges persist, arts, culture, and resistance are central to Cape Town’s identity and ongoing transformation. Throughout its history, the city has been a powerful site of creative defiance—from protest theatre and political murals during apartheid to the vibrant poetry, music, and street art that challenge injustice today. Cultural expression has long served as a tool for reckoning and healing. Arts initiatives and festivals such as Infecting the City and Live Art engage with diversity and complexity while provoking dialogue on social issues. The legacy of artists and activists who used culture to mobilise communities continues to inspire new generations.
Today, Cape Town’s creatives play a vital role in envisioning alternative futures, holding power to account, and keeping alive the stories that apartheid and colonialism tried to erase. Arts and culture also play a vital role in responding to pressing socio-ecological challenges such as water scarcity, climate change, land dispossession, and environmental injustice. Creative practices are increasingly being used to raise awareness about the unequal impacts of ecological crises—particularly on marginalised communities—and to imagine more inclusive, sustainable futures. From site-specific performances in drought-stricken areas to community murals addressing pollution and green space access, Cape Town’s artists are helping to make complex environmental issues tangible and emotionally resonant. These cultural interventions foster dialogue, reclaim public space, and mobilise action, highlighting the power of creativity in shaping a more just urban environment.
Photo: Andy Mkosi