B.2.1 Sustainability understood in its multiplicity

Sustainability is the primary concern within the AC ecosystem. It is a condition and a process which incorporates the determination of each organisation. It has always been referred to as the capacities for self-sustainability and self-determination.

It not only denotes a reason or a means by which to live but also an avenue for making sense and valuing the various forms of the existing discrepancies among the AC members. The value of the ecosystem lies in how each member shows their willingness to take care of, and at once acknowledges their inter-dependency to each other.

Sustainability is most of the time measured in how well an organisation can survive, i.e: goes on, and mainly in terms of money. However, in AC, sustainability is looked at in its multiplicity and interwoven layers, since an organisation is not only dependant on monetary resources but also on intangible resources (such as experience, knowledge, etc.) and relies greatly on the relations it maintains within its community and its context, in order to sustain the intentions of the work it does.

The shift towards degrowth and ecological sustainability is very much linked to the idea of working towards self-sustainability for the organization and the ecosystem. This involves a shift towards qualitative content rather than quantitative, strengthening rather than growing, caring rather than exploiting and exhausting.

In that regard, it is equally important for an AC organization to work on its internal structure (exposing power dynamics inside the organization for example; placing values such as care and studying at the center as part of the day-to day practice), rather than the structure of its funding. It is also necessary to be aware of its surroundings, namely other organizations working in the same field and to nurture the spirit of openness towards the different communities. This is especially true since in the precarious context where arts and social work reside, the survival of an organization depends to a great extent on the informal relations it maintains with its community (through emotional support, non-waged labor, networking, etc.).