Ruben de Boer is a new PhD candidate at ESHCC and has started his research in September 2024. The subject of his research are creative hubs in Utrecht and their ecosystem. Central in this anthropological study is developing knowledge about the meaning of creative hubs for a futureproof practice for artists and art professionals.
Ruben studied cultural anthropology at the Utrecht University and has been working as a teacher for around ten years. He teaches arts and economics at the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. Besides teaching he is a creative professional: a former gallery owner, freelance filmmaker and product designer. In September 2024 his PhD on creative hubs and their ecosystems started, supervised by dr. (Erik) H.J.C.J. Hitters and dr. (Walter) W.J. van Andel (HKU University of the Arts Utrecht).
Creative hubs are vibrant 'places to be' where art, culture and the public meet. Since the 1980s, artists and creative companies have established themselves in buildings or areas that previously had a different purpose, such as ports, factories or school or government buildings. According to policymakers and researchers, these newly transformed places have important added value for the (local) economy, urban development and innovation. Due to the successes of these hubs in the past twenty years, in which not only artistic but also social and economic values is created, they have since been used often as a policy instrument for achieving all kinds of (non-artistic) goals.
The foundation of these creative hubs are artists and creative professionals who rent a workplace there. Unfortunately, the daily reality of creative professionals in these hubs is characterized by their weak labour market position. More than half of artists in the Netherlands earn less than minimum income and they often have little social securities. To navigate the uncertainties and strengthen their own position, artists and creative professionals find ways to share knowledge and work together in creative hubs. The stimulating context that creative hubs provide can be considered as an ecosystem. The interplay between the physical dimension and the ‘inhabitants’ of creative hubs are of special interest to Ruben.
This PhD is an anthropological inquiry into creative hubs and their ecosystem. The aim is to develop knowledge about the meaning of creative hubs for a futureproof practice for artists and art professionals, so that the artistic basis of creative hubs is preserved. Together with numerous stakeholders such as the municipality, facilitating partners, and creative hubs themselves, Ruben will help find ways to implement the gained knowledge in both the outside world and his own teaching practice.
- Researcher
