mapping climate sanctuaries
With record-breaking heatwaves across the UK, this year’s Cool Off In Culture campaign has provided a refuge for heat-stricken culture seekers in times of need.
Cultural sanctuaries from art galleries to libraries joined the Cool Off in Culture campaign to build a national map of cultural spaces – museums, galleries, libraries, cinemas, theatres, and more – where communities can find relief during extreme heat.
As summer temperatures climb, your cultural venue can play a vital role in community heat resilience by offering a welcoming place for people to cool down.
Whether your venue provides air‑conditioning, free water refill points, shaded outdoor seating, or simply a calm, comfortable environment, it makes a meaningful difference. By joining the campaign, your organisation is:
- Strengthen community resilience by positioning your venue as an essential public space during heatwaves.
- Increase visitor engagement through welcoming people when they need support most.
- Champion climate justice by demonstrating that culture is critical infrastructure in a fair, climate‑ready future.
Together, we can show how cultural spaces support both people and planet when temperatures rise.
Keir Oldfield-Lewis, Head of Environmental Sustainability at the BFI, said:
Cultural venues are open at all times of day and night. They’re key institutions of our community and just round the corner: they should be an essential part of the public health response.
GUIDES FOR cultural venues
A UK‑Wide Partnership for Heat Resilient Communities
The Cool Off in Culture campaign was launched by the BFI in 2025 and is now delivered in partnership with Julie’s Bicycle, BFI, LIVE Green, and Arts Council England. It began as a direct response to climate risk mapping that revealed a striking gap: London’s existing “Cool Spaces” map included very few cultural venues, despite their central role in public life.
Now expanded across the UK, the campaign recognises the essential part cultural spaces play in community heat resilience. By offering safe, comfortable refuge during intensifying heatwaves and extreme weather, cultural venues help protect public wellbeing and demonstrate how culture acts as critical climate infrastructure.
- Culture as climate infrastructure — highlighting the sector’s role in public safety and resilience. said…
- Campaign origins — responding to climate risk mapping and gaps in London’s cooling network.
- National partnership — led collaboratively by BFI, Julie’s Bicycle, LIVE Green, and Arts Council England.
Nicola Saunders, Director, Environmental Responsibility and Innovation, at Arts Council England, said:
At their core, arts and culture venues are vital spaces for communities up and down the country. They serve many purposes for people of all ages – to inspire, to create, and also to cool down in hot weather. We are so pleased to be part of this partnership and encourage as many cultural venues to sign up as possible.
DEVELOP A CLIMATE RESILIENT CULTURE VENUE
The new Heat Adaptation Guide for Arts & Cultural Organisations, developed by climate adaptation specialists Shade the UK, offers clear, practical strategies to help cultural buildings prepare for and respond to severe weather. Paired with an easy‑to‑use checklist, it supports teams to assess risks, plan improvements, and strengthen their venue’s resilience during rising temperatures and extreme heat.
Picture the Impact
Viewing the map highlights the diverse range of cultural venues across the UK that took part in this summer’s Cool Off in Culture campaign.
For this year’s campaign we joined forces with LIVE+BREATHE to visualise the impact beyond the map. These resources have been designed by KIILU from Rosko Studios and Fiona Quadri and can be edited for free in Canva.
For more on our programmes be sure to sign-up to the Julie’s Bicycle monthly newsletter.
Spread the word