S6:E2 Fostering collective imagination… Conrado Uribe Pereira, Director of Contents, Conexiones Creativas
Guest
Conrado Uribe Pereira
In conversation with
Stephanie Fortunato
Stephanie Fortunato, speaks with Conrado Uribe about the power of networks to break cycles of isolation – and to make “collective imagination” a practical force in how cities evolve. Moving from Medellín to Barcelona to a Latin America-wide network of cultural districts, Conrado reflects on collaboration, governance, and why the real foundations of a district are its people, not its buildings.
Date of Recording
14 January 2026
Date of Publication
12 February 2026
[00:00:00]
Conrado Uribe Pereira: Networks can break that idea of hopelessness and isolation through collective work and collective imagination. And we need to also remind us that humans, we humans, are a species that can imagine, and we need to imagine. And basically everything we do is through imagination.
[00:00:21]
THEME MUSIC
[00:00:26]
Stephanie Fortunato: Hello, and welcome to The Three Bells. This podcast is one of a series brought to you by AEA Consulting for the Global Cultural Districts Network in which we explore the dynamic relationship between culture, cities, and communities around the world, to consider how cultural vitality influences urbanism and how that urbanism influences culture.
I'm Stephanie Fortunato, Special Projects Director for GCDN. And today, I'm joined by Conrado Uribe, curator, cultural strategist and director of Conexiones Creativas across Latin American network of cultural districts and cultural leaders.
Conexiones Creativas is a partner and sister network to GCDN, and through our ongoing collaboration, we regularly check in to explore the central question for this show: How can networks of cultural districts transform not only how cities support culture, but how communities shape their own urban futures?
Conrado brings a unique perspective, the rare vantage point gained by working across many cities in a region. And I'm excited for you to hear his reflections about the power of networks, how shared knowledge, collective action, and cultural collaboration can influence the future of cities and the people who make them vibrant.
It's a conversation about culture, urbanism, and community at their most interconnected. Welcome to The Three Bells, Conrado.
[00:01:48]
Conrado Uribe Pereira: Well, Stephanie, thank you very much for that beautiful introduction. I am very happy. We are very happy. Before the interview, I was thinking that this podcast is like being invited to the Tiny Desk NPR concerts.
…
External Links
Conexiones Creativas: Conrado’s organisation, designing and delivering projects to strengthen cultural and creative ecosystems.
Plataforma de Distritos Creativos y Culturales: The network platform Conrado describes, supporting exchanges across creative districts in the Americas and Europe.
Campus Colombias: The convening format Conrado references as a catalyst moment in the organisation’s early years.
Museo de Antioquia: Museum at the centre of Conrado’s Medellín experience and a key cultural anchor in the city.
MDE – Encuentro Internacional de Arte de Medellín: The four-year international art encounter organised by Museo de Antioquia, referenced in the episode’s Medellín context.
LOOP Barcelona: The moving-image platform and festival Conrado mentions as a formative collaboration-led model.
Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: The “humans succeed through collaboration” framing Conrado references via Harari’s work.
“Scenius, or Communal Genius” (Wired): A widely cited explainer of Brian Eno’s idea of “scenius” that Conrado invokes (collective creativity over lone genius).
About our Guest
Conrado Uribe Pereira, is a curator and cultural strategist, and Content Director at Conexiones Creativas, the Colombia-founded platform behind a growing network of creative and cultural districts across Latin America and parts of Southern Europe. In the episode, he traces how his work in Medellín (including at the Museo de Antioquia) and later in Barcelona shaped his conviction that districts succeed when they invest first in talent (“software”), then governance (“artware”), and only then in infrastructure. +
