Hub Features

Being a creative hub is not a fixed definition, but rather a process that takes shape over time and exists with the balance of different components. The main features that distinguish hubs from other structures emerge on four main axes: (1) Creating and nurturing a community , (2) Carrying social purpose and financial sustainability together , (3) Creating areas of encounter and interaction , (4) Being in constant interaction with an expanding ecosystem .

Not every creative hub has these features at the same time or with the same strength. While some structures stand out in creating communities, others stand out with their spatial initiatives. Some provide transformation thanks to the relationships they establish with the ecosystem.

The purpose of examining this section is not to see whether you are deficient or complete; but to realize in which areas you are stronger and in which areas you have opportunities for development.

The way to become a creative hub is to balance these four areas in a way that suits your own structure. Some characteristics are shaped by time, experience and needs. Each area that you think is lacking also offers the opportunity to stretch and strengthen your structure. In the explanations below, you will find what these characteristics mean, how they are shaped and why they form the basis of resilience.

Creative hubs are structures that build a community around themselves in order to sustain their existence and strengthen their meaning. In the early years of the hub, this community is shaped by activities that bring people together, encourage interaction, and nurture a culture of co-production. Over time, it needs to be managed and nurtured regularly in order to understand the dynamics of the community, hear its needs, and ensure the sustainability of mutual value creation. In later stages, this relationship goes beyond individual participation and turns into a more systematic structure that creates its own internal cycles, developing through collaborations and joint projects. The community exists not only around the space or programs; it exists on the grounds of common goals, shared values, and mutual support. This process plays a critical role in the resilience of the creative hub because the community provides the most important space for action in both crises and growth opportunities.

Creative hubs are both socially purposeful structures that support production and social impact, and commercial organizations with a sustainable business model. This is defined as having a dual mission , and is one of the most distinguishing features of creative hubs. Finding this balance between creative/social mission and financial sustainability is the fundamental journey of every hub. Hubs must undertake a mission that inspires, creates space and transforms their community, while also developing revenue models, establishing commercial relationships and managing resources to sustain this mission.

This dual structure often raises the question of whether the needs of the community come first or whether financial security comes first . Unlike commercial enterprises, creative hubs do not see these two areas as opposing but as mutually reinforcing. The financial structure is a tool that sustains the creative and social purpose, while the community is an active actor that not only supports but also contributes to this sustainability and creates value.

Hubs that can achieve this balance not only survive economically, but can also continue to strengthen their creative impact over the long term.

Creative hubs design encounter spaces that bring their communities together. These spaces are often shaped around a physical space; they both feed community dynamics and form an important part of their revenue model with events, work environments, workshops and shared spaces.

For some hubs, this encounter space is a fixed space, while others bring their community together by transforming different physical spaces or through digital and hybrid solutions. Regardless of their form, what creative hubs have in common is that they create environments that enable their communities to encounter, produce and share.

Over time, these areas cease to be just places to meet; they evolve into an ecosystem that the community owns, transforms and sustains. Thus, the hub goes beyond space and becomes a continuous center of interaction and production shaped around the community.

Creative hubs are not limited to their own communities; they are in constant interaction with the ecosystem at different scales. They follow what is happening locally, nationally and internationally, read the changes and act in harmony with these dynamics for both their communities and their own existence.

This interaction involves establishing relationships across a wide spectrum, from cultural and artistic institutions to academia, from civil society to the private sector, and from the public to the creative industries. Through these multi-layered connections, creative hubs not only respond to current needs, but also create new collaborations, resources, visibility and learning opportunities for their communities.

This connection established with the ecosystem allows the hub to correctly position its purpose of existence , adapt to changes and increase its resilience .

Deepening into local networks at times, and taking part in international platforms at other times, allows creative hubs to both expand their influence and nourish their communities.