This booklet is the culminating publication of the Alter-Places cooperative project, a European initiative co-funded by the European Union that investigated the sustain(-)ability of Alternative Cultural Places (ACPs). In the context of this project, ACPs are conceived as grassroots, self-organized spaces that operate outside mainstream cultural and institutional frameworks. Often situated at the margins, artistically, geographically, socially, or politically, they prioritize autonomy, experimentation, and do-it-yourself (DIY) methods. More than venues for cultural production or consumption, ACPs are living spaces of creative resistance and social experimentation, where artistic, care and civic practices intersect. Alter-Places investigates the critical role of these specific cultural places in ecological transition, urban resilience, and democratic renewal. Emerging in response to converging global crises: climate catastrophe, ecological degradation, war, systemic inequality, racism, and xenophobia, Alter-Places has charted the increasingly precarious terrain in which ACPs operate. In doing so, this project asks : What does sustainability mean for ACPs? What is needed to sustain these spaces? And what are the issues and hidden costs?

Taking a holistic view of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental, the project pursued four core objectives: to explore the innovative sustainable practices developed by ACPs and evaluate their role in urban resilience; to identify and critically assess the obstacles and tensions they face in maintaining sustainable strategies; to stren gthen their capacity through peer exchange and best practice sharing; and to raise awareness among public authorities about their vital role in fostering equitable, green, and inclusive urban transformation.

To culminate the project and disseminate its findings, we conceived and produced SUSTAIN-ABLE?, a hybrid form that functions both as a “sensible restitution” and a speculative prototype. Part exhibition, part inquiry, this booklet takes the form of the restitution that was presented for the final event in Paris at La Station - Gare des Mines in April 2025. It captures the collective thinking and doing carried out across 18 months of transnational collaboration between artists, researchers, practitioners, and experts. We invite you to enter this fragile ecosystem of thought and action. Not as a retrospective, but as an open framework for imagining what might still be possible.