The Creative Community Hubs Network is a partnership project increasing connections and solidarity between community-based creative hubs across Edinburgh.
We are delighted to announce launch of our charter – a living document shaped by the voices, values, and visions of the Creative Community Hubs Network. It’s an open invitation to external partners to align with our values before beginning any collaboration. Read more here.
The Creative Community Hubs Network has a threefold focus. First, working to build and sustain a network grounded in trust, respect, and mutual support. With these values, the network champions collaboration over competition.
Second, through a small grants programme associated with the network, the project is supporting creative activities in local communities across Edinburgh, while simultaneously interrogating wider funding practices and models.
Third, to advocate for the value of community-embedded and people-centred cultural work across Edinburgh, Scotland, and beyond. Watch the video below to learn more.
The Network
For the purposes of this project, a ‘creative community hub’ is an organisation that operates out of a publicly accessible building (the hub) within an identifiable community or locality, with culture and creativity as a primary concern. The Creative Community Hubs Network currently consists of eight partner organisations based across Edinburgh. There are many similarities and shared experiences between the hubs, yet each organisation has a unique offering and approach to their work. This reflects the rich history and real diversity of creative community practice across the city, developed over time in response to specific local contexts and shaped by people in communities.
Funding Communities Better report launch
Funding Communities Better Launch, 19th June 2024 at Out of The Blue Drill Hall, Dalmeny Street. Photography by Kat Gollock.
WHALE Community Development Coordinator Tiki Muir and creative freelancer Morvern Cunningham have been working together with the Creative Community Hubs project – looking at developing the network and the impact of different funding models. These are shared in a new report, Funding Communities Better, which focuses on relationships and approaches to funding.
Funding Communities Better was printed and launched last week at participating hub Out of the Blueprint, a riso printing social enterprise based at Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Leith which seeks to provide opportunities for young people to work in the creative industries. At the launch, Tiki and Morvern gave an overview of the report and its findings and how this will develop with the Hubs work across the city and the project funders, City of Edinburgh Council and others.
You can see images of the launch above and read the report here.
Thanks to Out of The Blueprint for designing & printing the report.
Working Better Together
The Creative Community Hubs project began in 2021 as a six-month pilot exploring areas of commonality between local creative hubs in Edinburgh. Several key themes quickly emerged, including partnership working, power dynamics, and funding. The findings from this research are captured in the Working Better Together report with the pull-out poster titled How We Would Like It To Be.
These documents give insight into power imbalances frequently at play in partnership working between creative community hubs and cultural institutions in Edinburgh, as well as laying out some basic principles for successful partnership working.
Working-Better-Together-How-we-would-like-it-to-beShared Learning Workshops
Sharing best practice expertise has been a valuable part of working together as a network. This video gives insight into how the hubs shared learning and skills through a programme of workshops throughout 2022 and 2023.
Say hello if you’re interested in learning more about the Creative Community Hubs Network, sharing learning, or collaboratively supporting one another.
Reach out! If you consider your organisation to be a creative community hub and you are based in Edinburgh but not yet involved with the network.
Got a platform? We welcome opportunities to speak about our work and to have a voice shaping cultural policy and funding structures.
Interested in partnering with the network? Please read our Working Better Together report. Consider the partnership principles in the How We Would Like It to Be section of the report before contacting us.
Contact Us
Enquiries about the network: hubs@whalearts.co.uk
Please contact hubs directly with enquires specifically concerning them. Contact details can be found on the respective hubs’ websites.
The Creative Community Hubs Network is funded by the City of Edinburgh Council, with WHALE Arts as lead partner. The project and network activities are facilitated by Eva Mckenzie (WHALE Arts) and Morvern Cunningham (freelance creative).
