Beyond the algorithm: why creatives are seeking community offline

Creative collectives are offering new ways to meet people and build community in London – from book clubs and art nights to running groups. PLACE founder Hannah Makonnen shares why traditional networking doesn’t work for everyone, and why more creatives are turning to shared activities to connect beyond social media.

Hannah Makonnen shot by Jessica Madavo

Tell us a bit about PLACE and how it started…
I was working as a writer covering culture and subcultures, and I kept noticing all these collectives forming across London. I found myself wondering: where’s the one space that brings them together?

I was discovering these collectives on TikTok and Instagram, but the point of going to these events is to spend less time being chronically online. So the idea was to build a platform outside the algorithm – about curation, taste, and exploring your passions.

Then people liked it, and it stuck! Once collectives started joining PLACE, they began sharing audiences and supporting each other’s growth. It became an ecosystem quite quickly.

Why do you think traditional creative networking formats don't always work for everyone?
Traditional networking doesn't always work because you enter with a goal: to take rather than to give. You’re trying to get something out of that experience rather than just trying to find common ground with someone based on interest or just your existence.

I've found that if you enter into a conversation with “I can do this for you” or “can you do this for me?”, you don’t get much. I think people just find it tiring to feel like people want something from them.

The PLACE website

What role do shared activities like book clubs, workshops, and exhibitions play in helping people connect?
People can explore parts of themselves in a way that doesn’t feel forced. It comes out naturally over time. When you’re doing an activity, you have to be comfortable being in silence for part of it. You’re introspective and you’re not always trying to chat just for the sake of it.

It takes away a lot of the pressure. A lot of hosts try to create space so that there isn’t pressure. For example, Töpia's Homies hosts live music events, but she also has a knitting area in the club. So if you don’t actually want to constantly be engaged in the way that you’re expected to, you can find another space within that space.

Or there’s 858 Art Club. It might sound like a teaching environment, but actually there’s an hour where you can just work on anything you want. You can be in silence. You can have your headphones on. Existing in those spaces removes the pressure of other, more structured creative events.

A lot of creative community-building advice focuses on building an Instagram or LinkedIn audience. Do you think something gets lost when community stays digital?
It’s very risky to build your community on a platform that you have no ownership over. You don’t own your community on Instagram. You don’t own it on TikTok. The only thing you have is real people and real connections that you’re making.

Platforms change constantly, and one algorithm change can mean you’re relearning how to reach the audience you worked so hard to build. At that point, it starts to feel like you’re working for Instagram.

Do you think there’s a wider shift towards in-person creative community?
Yeah, absolutely. It’s happening on all fronts: people wanting to attend, people creating spaces they wanted for themselves, and institutions paying more attention of those spaces that are being created. Brands are also taking attention to that.

There’s just a huge uptick in the value of experience-led engagement. London can feel quite difficult to exist in sometimes. Finding these spaces where you can take a moment and explore your interests – and the reasons why you maybe moved to London – feels really important.

A lot of these spaces are created by collectives who invest a lot of time and their own money into them to ensure that it’s either low cost or free. So it’s ways people can engage with culture that might otherwise be inaccessible.

PLACE 2nd Birthday, powered by Salomon

What advice would you give emerging creatives who feel intimidated about building community?
There’s a shift happening where showing up as your authentic self is more encouraged. People are more open to very different types of people. I’ve seen loads of different types of people in one room.

So not to feel like you’re going to stand out just because you have a different way of receiving information, or being creative, or how you talk. There’s such a vast amount of different communities that there is a space for them. When they go searching, they’ll be able to find somewhere that almost feels curated for them.

What are you proudest of about creating PLACE?
I’m incredibly proud of the resilience of my team – going through the ups and downs of creating something from nothing and building it to where it’s at in two years.

It’s tough. Everyone always says only the good parts are shown online, but there are some really, really tough moments that we’ve all gone through in order to make this work.

So I’m really proud of PLACE as a team that’s been able to keep it going to this point. And I’m proud of the collectives as well. They’re doing the exact same thing for their own communities. They put in so much time, sacrifice, thought and care into making spaces for people.