A new artistic space in Harare is coming up

Story by Stine Kronsted, Dreamtown’s Urban Desginer

Something is bubbling in the outskirts of Hatcliffe in Harare. The first steps have been taken toward transforming an empty field into a new centre for young artists in Harare. This is a brief insight in the collaborative design process with Dreamtown and the House of Arts Association.

The ground has been broken for a space for young artists in Harare, the House of Arts Artistic Space. The space will function as the headquarters of the House of Arts Association, and will be filled with music and dance studios, a stage, art galleries, urban gardening, chill-out spaces and a cafe.  It will be a space for dreaming, for experimenting, for creating and innovating

Casper Caespidor, the head of the House of Arts Association, says: “For us it is very important that we can provide a space that is friendly to young people. The youth make up a large part of the population in the area and they need a space where they can come and feel free and relaxed. They will have an opportunity to develop their artistic skills and meet healthy role models that can inspire them both as artists and as young people in general. In Hatcliffe there is only one community center, and it is far from enough to support the young population in the community. We will provide a gallery, music studios, dance studios, a stage and a gazebo for both artists and young people in general to enjoy. This space will help young people to make quality art and inspire other young people who wish to pursue their dreams”.

Dreamtown has facilitated the process of designing the space, together with the House of Arts Association. So far it has included brainstorming on the visions, sketching out the concept, trying out different ideas, modelling and narrowing in the design scenarios. To get a more in-depth insigt of the process, visit our padlet site: https://da.padlet.com/stinekronsted/145wivhhv3h8pdda and our miro board: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lNGd3mU=/ .These platforms have been crucial tools for our collaborative design process. Through these digital tools we have brainstormed, shared ideas and solutions with each other, and it has helped us keep an overview of the process from start to end, marking milestones and deadlines as we went on.

Currently, the boundaries of the site have been built. The site is now surrounded by a palisade fence that will keep the space safe, while working as one long canvas for artists to decorate. There has been installed water, and a toilet is in the process of being built.

The next step will be to continue sketching on the design of the buildings and the outdoor spaces. COVID has restrained us from meeting physically and this has challenged the process of designing collaboratively. However, we think that we have gotten the best out of it, together with our partners, and we are very excited to see where this process will take us!

A big shout out to Roskilde Festival who are supporting the creative journey and the young artists in our network in Zimbabwe.