Sustainability strategies for the music events’ sector: Systemic Design applied to the case study of Istituto Musicale Città di Rivoli “G. Balmas”

Events can be described from a holistic perspective as complex systems in which flows of activities, people, information, materials and energy are intertwined. Every element of this system influences the type of legacy that the event leaves to the local community and the environment. This research deals with the use of Systemic Design’s tools to investigate how events in the music sector could integrate sustainability practices through new connections. The case study analysed is the live events’ season 2021/2022 of Istituto Musicale Città di Rivoli “G. Balmas”, an important cultural actor in Turin’s Metropolitan Area that hosts a music school and organises concerts throughout the year. The research input came from the participation of the company to Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo’s call for bids “Art Waves”, which supports cultural realities on the surrounding territory. Inclusivity and environmental responsibility are among the evaluation parameters of the call, making it an incentive for Istituto Musicale to improve their sustainability on different perspectives. The aim of the research is to define what a sustainable event is, through literature review and analysis of good practices, and investigate Istituto Musicale’s events’ system, in order to design sustainability strategies that can address from short to long term objectives.