Split, Croatia | 26–31 January 2026
What happens when two coastal creative hubs,rooted in different cultural and geographical contexts,come together to explore how art, community, and spatial transformation intersect?
For six days in January 2026, Espazo A Maceta (Muros, Spain) and Culture Hub Croatia (Split, Croatia) engaged in an intensive peer-learning exchange focused on creative ecosystems, the activation of urban and rural “voids,” and the role of culture in shaping more inclusive and resilient coastal communities.
The programme brought together Alba Fernández Arias, founder of Espazo A Maceta, and representatives of Culture Hub Croatia, including the team behind PROSTOR, to develop a shared framework for collaboration and explore the foundations of a future European cooperation project.
Coastal Contexts and the Question of “Voids”
At the core of the exchange was a shared research question:
How can creative hubs activate underused spaces in coastal historic environments without contributing to displacement, over-tourism, or cultural erosion?
For Culture Hub Croatia, this question connects directly to their work in Split through PROSTOR, a community-driven creative hub shaped by open calls, shared governance, and inclusive cultural programming. PROSTOR operates as a space for experimentation and exchange, where artists, educators, and local residents co-create responses to social and urban challenges.
Espazo A Maceta brings a complementary perspective from Muros, a small coastal village in Galicia, where the hub—known locally as “the Pot”—works with artists and communities to activate cultural and environmental “seeds.” Its initiatives focus on rural regeneration, preservation of traditional knowledge, and supporting local resilience in the face of seasonal tourism and economic fluctuation.
Together, both organisations identified a shared thematic focus: the activation of “voids”—vacant retail spaces, underused buildings, and socially disconnected areas—as sites for cultural and social innovation.
Field Exploration and Shared Ground in Split
The exchange began with a field visit across Split’s historic centre, where participants explored the city’s layered urban fabric and discussed local pressures such as tourism intensity, housing affordability, and the transformation of the coastal economy.
These observations grounded the exchange in lived urban realities and helped frame “voids” not only as physical absences, but as socio-economic conditions shaped by global and local forces.
The visit reinforced the importance of cultural actors in mediating these tensions, particularly in historic coastal cities where cultural identity, economy, and public space are tightly interwoven.
Knowledge Exchange and Collaborative Development
The following days focused on mutual learning, project exchange, and collaborative design.
Espazo A Maceta shared its approach to community-led cultural production in Muros, including projects such as A luz que enche os espazos baleiros, which explores the symbolic and social potential of empty spaces through artistic intervention.
Culture Hub Croatia presented the evolution of PROSTOR and its broader organisational model, including programming strategies, governance structures, and funding mechanisms developed through European, national, and local support systems.
A key moment of the exchange was a detailed session on funding strategies and project development pathways, which provided practical insight into how cultural organisations can navigate complex European frameworks while maintaining community-rooted practice.
Through these exchanges, both teams began shaping a shared analytical framework for understanding “voids” across coastal contexts—linking spatial vacancy with broader issues such as seasonal economies, cultural access, and the sustainability of small local businesses.
From Ideas to Framework: Building a Shared Narrative
Midway through the week, the exchange shifted into intensive co-creation.
Working sessions focused on integrating both organisations’ prior projects—A luz que enche os espazos baleiros in Muros and the “Voids” project in Split—into a unified conceptual and narrative framework.
This process resulted in the early foundations of a potential Creative Europe cooperation project, aligned with priorities around social innovation, cultural regeneration, and cross-border collaboration.
The emerging narrative positioned creative hubs as key actors in addressing spatial and social fragmentation in coastal historic districts, using artistic practice as a tool to interpret, activate, and reimagine underused spaces.
Parallel discussions explored potential consortium development, including the involvement of additional creative hubs from similar coastal contexts to strengthen future European cooperation applications.
Public Presentation and Local Engagement
The exchange concluded with a public presentation and interactive session in Split, where the developing project framework was shared with local stakeholders and cultural actors.
The event opened space for dialogue around the role of cultural infrastructure in urban transformation and highlighted the relevance of cross-border cooperation in addressing shared European challenges.
For both teams, the presentation marked an important moment of external validation and reflection, translating internal development work into a publicly articulated vision.
Outcomes and Future Collaboration
The exchange resulted in several concrete outcomes:
A shared conceptual framework for addressing “voids” in coastal historic districts through cultural and artistic practices;
The co-development of an initial structure for a Creative Europe cooperation project, with a planned submission horizon for autumn 2026;
Enhanced understanding of funding ecosystems and operational models across Spain and Croatia;
And strengthened institutional ties between Espazo A Maceta and Culture Hub Croatia.
Beyond the immediate outputs, the exchange established a strong commitment to continued collaboration. Next steps include the further development of local case studies, the consolidation of research partners and stakeholders, and the identification of additional creative hubs to join the emerging consortium.
Looking Ahead
What began as a focused peer-learning exchange evolved into a shared exploration of how coastal creative hubs can respond to spatial, social, and economic transformation through culture.
By connecting Muros and Split, Espazo A Maceta and Culture Hub Croatia opened a space for new forms of collaboration rooted in place-based knowledge, artistic practice, and European cooperation.
As both organisations concluded, the work is only just beginning.
