The Community Hub features an array of spaces, from private meeting rooms and lounges, to a screening room and brainstorming areas.
Abu Dhabi-based media, entertainment, and gaming freezone twofour54 has unveiled The Community Hub at its brand-new headquarters at Yas Creative Hub, reported to be the first purpose-built development for the creative sector in the region. The Community Hub is a collaborative co-creating space aimed at bringing together aspiring filmmakers, storytellers, animators, freelancers, start-ups, SME content creators and gamers so they can network, collaborate, use the Hub’s facilities, and bring their projects to fruition. The Community Hub also serves as a platform to connect members with twofour54’s established partners, enabling invaluable business and networking opportunities.
To this effect, The Community Hub features an array of spaces, from private meeting rooms and lounges to a screening room and brainstorming areas that are priced to accommodate creatives and businesses with varying budgets. Spaces for creatives and freelancers are available for as little as AED 500 ($136) a month while established businesses could potentially secure a hot desk and a license for AED 20,000 ($5434). Presently, there are 70 workstations to accommodate established businesses at the hub. Besides this, there are 12 meeting rooms designed to seat six or 12 people at one end of the facility.
“There’s a community hub manager and a booking system,” explained Yara Awad, Commercial Projects & Strategic Partnerships, Twofour54 Abu Dhabi – Media and Entertainment Hub. “You don’t have to be a registered freelancer. You could be a university student. We have ensured prices are affordable and competitive, so creatives can get on with their projects. These small spaces can be booked from one month to more based on how long they need the space for.”
A dedicated centre for gaming dubbed AD Gaming Hub, which houses a Centre of Excellence established by software developer Unity Technologies, is available for startups, professionals and small businesses to learn and hone their skills further. Likewise, Twofour54’s Arab Film Studio and The Creative Lab, which has over the years, nurtured several young creatives, has dedicated spaces designed to conduct workshops and training programmes, edit their works and screen them as well. Equally impressive are the large spaces for product launches, green rooms and enclosed spaces designed for video interviews. A 39-seater screening room with a 4K projector and a town hall with funky seating spaces are also available for film screenings, presentations and so on.
An impressive unit at this facility is the NVIDIA Studio that is run by the graphics technology company. The studio comprises 10 state-of-the-art studio computers equipped with the latest GeForce RTX Studio GPUs, alongside NVIDIA RTX accelerated applications that can be used free-of-charge by people.
“Some members of the community don’t have access to these very high-end systems, but they have projects on which they’re working. These computers can be booked free-of-charge although they are subject to availability. Working on these computers will really help take their projects to the next level. NVIDIA will also be hosting training workshops and events to bring the community together and enhance the skills of creative professionals across the emirate,” she adds.
Mark Whitehead, Chief Executive Officer, twofour54, commented: “At twofour54, each partner brings a wealth of knowledge to the table and makes the community richer and stronger. Research shows that the greatest impact starts with empowering local communities. By introducing the Community Hub, creatives and entrepreneurs will have access to resources that will help them address tomorrow’s most pressing issues. The hub will be an engine of ideation, igniting new projects, and businesses and empowering creative talent to grow as they hone their skills side by side with like-minded peers and the industry’s best.”
The Community Hub was built in response to a growing need in the market. It provides young talent with mentorship opportunities, enabling career progression and ultimately ownership of their full-fledged projects. Beyond its purpose as a private and flexible working space for individuals within the creative industry, The Community Hub provides a medium through which creatives and freelancers can learn from each other, interact with one another, and work together towards growing the creative industry in the UAE.
Besides creating these spaces, Twofour54 has also developed a whole calendar of curated events to activate the space, explained Awad.
