Access to Culture: Edinburgh’s Creative Community Hubs
Project: Creating a network of community-led creative spaces to improve collective wellbeing
The City of Edinburgh Council developed the Creative Community Hubs project to strengthen collaboration between cultural institutions and community-based organisations. Since 2021, it has created a network of eight local and creative hubs across the city that provides safe, accessible, and meaningful spaces where residents can participate in, shape, and benefit from cultural activity. This initiative directly supports the city’s Culture Strategy 2023–30, which recognises culture and creativity as essential to individual and collective wellbeing, and community resilience.
Understanding the challenges of cultural collaboration
The project emerged from a six-month pilot led by WHALE Arts Agency and funded by the City of Edinburgh Council in 2021. Following the pilot, representatives from emerging hubs gathered to share experiences of partnership working and to reflect on how the project could be developed. These discussions revealed both the opportunities of collaboration and the systemic barriers faced by community organisations. Among the most pressing issues were power imbalances between large cultural institutions and grassroots initiatives, as well as differing value systems and attitudes that often undervalued community expertise. Concerns were also raised about the inequitable distribution of public funding, which placed community organisations at a disadvantage compared with better-resourced cultural bodies, despite their crucial role in reaching and engaging local residents.
Establishing the Creative Community Hubs network
In response to these challenges, the Creative Community Hubs Network was established in late 2021 and now brings together eight partner organisations: WHALE Arts (as lead partner), Granton Hub, North Edinburgh Arts, Duncan Place Community Hub, Out of the Blueprint, The Crannie (part of Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust), Lyra, and Craigmillar NOW. Each hub has been shaped by its own local context and community history, but all share a commitment to inclusivity, creativity, and access to culture. Collectively, they represent the diversity of Edinburgh’s cultural life while working together to build a more connected and equitable ecosystem.
The project has also launched the ‘Make Space’ initiative, which provides free access to cultural venues across the Network for community members, artists, and practitioners, breaking down barriers to creative participation, and providing affordable creative space in Edinburgh.
Strengthening collaboration and sharing knowledge
The Network is facilitated by WHALE Arts, which coordinates regular meetings, peer-to-peer visits, and a Creative Community Hubs newsletter. This structure enables hubs to learn from one another’s experiences while fostering stronger partnerships across the city. Knowledge sharing has been further strengthened through the creation of The Hubs Charter, a living document that reflects the values and aspirations of the Network.
Opportunities for one-to-one support and new collaborations have also been embedded into the programme, creating a dynamic framework for joint working. At the same time, the Network has developed an advocacy role, documenting best practice in community-led cultural work and amplifying the value of embedded creative practice in shaping policy and strategy.
Supporting the sustainability of the network
The impact of the project has been recognised through the award of three-year Strategic Partnership funding from the City of Edinburgh Council for 2024–27. This aligns with the Cultural Strategy’s aim of ensuring that all residents can access meaningful cultural experiences in their local area. Recognition has also come externally, with the Creative Community Hubs shortlisted for Creative Edinburgh’s City Award, raising visibility for its collaborative and locally rooted approach.
