(Co-)Creating from ‘Nothing’, (Co-)Producing Digitally: The Art of Funding Cultural Projects Through Bottom-Up Collaboration and Co-Creation

Abstract This chapter looks at creating value that goes beyond either funding or financing. Digitalization has enabled many communities to share, create, diffuse, and consume arts and culture. These initiatives, regardless of whether they are managed by established organizations or emerging artists and creators, have one thing in common: the production of value—or efforts to make the proposition a reality—is shared and distributed among a group, collectively providing their inputs for the benefits of the project. Based on a case study of a youth orchestra, the authors show how to produce arts and culture through the bonds or shared value between the people in the network behind the project. Particularly exploring crowdfunding, this study demonstrates how co-production in the culture sector is enhanced, fostering co-creation, socio-economic resilience, and diverse, community-rooted artistic values while reshaping traditional funding dynamics through participatory networks and non-monetary exchanges.