HOW TO START A HUB

Would you like to start your own hub? Follow these steps!

Where will your meetings take place?

  • Find a supportive local venue. It could be your local theatre, gallery, or independent cinema.

  • Find the best person to contact- this could be a producer, programmer/curator or venue manager.  

  • Ask for a meeting to discuss MWM. Face-to-face is best so you can see the meeting spaces and find a preferred private space.

  • Alongside providing the space for free, ask how else they can support you, for example sharing the hub on their newsletter or social media.

Who will come?

  • Fellow m/other makers, local residents, artists.

  • We have found that working with one or two other m/other makers to get your new hub off the ground works really well. It is a chance to be part of a collective of artists with a shared vision. You can exchange ideas, support each other, and even better, rotate the facilitation of the group.

What about money?

  • MWM is an artist-led network and is not currently receiving regular funding. We would encourage you to seek funding to run your hub. 

  • Ideally your venue would cover the core costs by paying you as a facilitator. You also need to factor in any overheads, marketing costs, refreshments and a box of toys.

  • We suggest charging participants between £3-5 for the meeting.

  • If the venue can’t offer financial support, think of other ways you can cover your costs. This might include local / regional community funds and artist funds.

What Next?

  • Contact Us to let us know your plans by filling in this form.

  • Attend a workshop: We run workshops for new hub coordinators every six months. You’ll find the next date on our events page.

  • Set a date: We suggest 1-3 months lead in time to launch your first meeting. This must be done in communication with the venue and MWM. We suggest finding a recurring time slot each month.

  • Write an invite: Here’s an example as a guide! We will set you up with a page on the MWM site, and you can choose how you want people to book onto your events. We will also provide you with logos and images to support your marketing.

  • Stay connected: You’ve done it!  You will be invited to join the MWM Hub Coordinators What’s App group, and to participate in biannual peer support meetings for hub coordinators.