A Regenerative Creative Consultancy With a Profound Commitment to Culture, People, Place, and the Future.
About Us
thirdPlaces is a collaborative network of creative consultants and academics with international practice in the arts, culture, heritage, the creative economy, cultural relations, and urban regeneration.
With a proven track record of working with sector-related public bodies, cultural institutions, and communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and internationally, we bring extensive regional and sectoral experience in designing, delivering, and evaluating place-based strategies, policies, and programmes for cultural and creative ecosystems operating in rapidly evolving contexts.
Focused on unlocking the full potential of places, we work with our clients and their communities in a spirit of shared responsibility to realise their aspirations and maximise culture’s role as a driver of societal, environmental, and economic regeneration.
Our Approach
Our approach to cultural development is holistic and rooted in deep care for local communities and our planet.
Through people-centred approaches and co-creation processes, we bridge the gap between top-down and bottom-up approaches to cultural development and empower creative ecosystems to imagine, design, and foster a regenerative future.
Third places are pivotal to this process, shaping inclusive urban ecologies and fostering innovation. They are where cultural identities remain fluid, and new narratives emerge. Through dialogue, creative encounters, and experimental exchange, we help shape third places as sites of co-creation, agency, and regeneration.
Our Expertise
We turn visions into impact by unlocking the full potential of culture, creativity, and place.
Strategy & Cultural Policy Design
We work closely with public bodies to develop national and place-based roadmaps for cultural and creative industries and craft strategies for creative clusters. Our policy recommendations are evidence-based, supporting more conducive, sustainable, and inclusive creative urban ecologies.
Cultural Placemaking
We approach cultural placemaking as a transdisciplinary process in which we co-create extraordinary places with people for people. We design key mechanisms and plans to enable arts, culture, and heritage to create a shared sense of identity and purpose, drive success, and contribute to the vitality of places.
Institutional Design & Audience Development
We help cultural institutions and creative enterprises refresh their perspectives and adapt to a changing world. Through audience-focused strategies and actionable programmes, we bring about the right momentum to ensure relevance, resilience, and impact.