Building a Creative Community in Barcelona | Margarida Pina Mendes

More Than Networking: Building a Creative Community in Barcelona

Since moving to Barcelona, I've wanted to connect with more people working in creative industries.

As a social media manager and content creator, so much of my work happens behind a screen. And while social media makes it easy to find other creatives, I wanted something that went beyond following each other online or meeting once at a traditional networking event.

I wanted to build a space where creative people could actually do things together.

From meeting to creating

The idea behind the community is simple: bring creatives together to meet, create, exchange ideas and support each other.

For one of our first events, we partnered with a local fashion brand here in Barcelona. We started by exploring the collection, choosing our favourite pieces and styling them in our own way. Then came the cameras.

We photographed each other, filmed videos, experimented with different ideas and helped one another create content. There was no pressure for everyone to create the same thing, and that was part of what made it interesting. Give several creatives the same clothes and the same location, and you'll still end up with completely different interpretations.

And, of course, there was plenty of laughing along the way.

The best part happened when we stopped creating

Afterwards, we all sat around a table. What started as casual conversation quickly became one of my favourite parts of the event.

We talked about what everyone was working on, from personal projects to businesses, and shared some of the challenges we were facing.

Then something happened very naturally. Someone would mention a problem, and another person would have an idea. Someone else had been through something similar. Another knew a tool, a strategy or an approach that could help.

Suddenly, we weren't simply networking. We were helping each other.

And that conversation captured exactly what I had imagined when I first thought about creating this community.

Creativity is better when it's shared

Working for yourself and building your own projects can be a lonely thing. You're constantly making decisions, solving problems and trying to figure out what comes next. Being surrounded by people who understand that world makes a huge difference.

That's what I want this community to offer. A space to create together, but also to talk openly about ideas, projects and challenges. A place where someone else's perspective might unlock an idea you hadn't considered, and where collaboration happens naturally.

Not a place where connections are measured by how many business cards or Instagram handles you collect. For me, community is about what happens after the introduction.

And we're only getting started

This community is still very new, and I don't want to define too rigidly what it should become. I want the people who join to help shape it too.

There will be more creative events, more opportunities to collaborate, more conversations around the table, and hopefully many unexpected ideas that come from putting creative people in the same room.

Because sometimes all it takes is the right people, a shared space and the willingness to exchange ideas.

Barcelona has no shortage of creative people. Now we're giving some of them a reason to meet. 🤍