Rationale
of the Toolkit

Creative hubs are often seen from the outside as a hangout, a venue or an inspiring place where creative people meet. But to insiders, being a creative hub is much more than that.

On the one hand, you create space for your community and support production. On the other hand, you are in a constant struggle to maintain financial balance and remain sustainable. Sometimes decisions you know are right put you in a difficult situation, and sometimes a crisis forces you to look for new directions.

Creative hubs are complex structures that cannot be defined with simple questions like “Are you successful?” or “Have you failed?” Because growing, being visible, or simply staying open is not always success. Likewise, closing down or changing direction is not always failure.

The real question on this journey is often: “How can I stay resilient?”

Resilience means more than just withstanding crises; it means knowing when to stretch, when to pull back, when to persist, when to change direction, all while remaining true to your community, yourself, and your purpose.

This set is comprised of the experiences of hub founders and operators who, like their readers, have gone through financial hardships, struggled to connect with their community, and repeatedly asked themselves the question, “Should I really continue like this?”

The purpose of this set is not to give a direct path to creative hubs; it is to enable us to hear the right questions in the ecosystem we all exist in. Because resilience begins not with ready-made answers, but with discovering what it means to you; without questioning how you truly hear your community, how you see yourself, and who you are within that structure, true empowerment is not possible.

Here you will find:

• Tips to help you create your own definition of success,

• Suggestions and tools on how to recognise your vulnerabilities and build your resilience,

• Questions that will redefine your relationship with your community and yourself.
  

The change you want to create, the community you support, and the path you walk may change over time. Goals may differ. But in order not to drift away, it is essential to develop the flexibility and awareness to manage this change.

This toolkit was created to help you with this process. We hope it will help you along the way.