A place for cultural expression, collaboration and community, Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre is a thriving beacon of creativity and unity in Africa’s largest refugee settlement.
Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre, northern Uganda, is the result of a collaboration led by creative platform To.org, in partnership with Hassell, architecture practice LocalWorks, and design and engineering firm Arup, to create a community hub that empowers creativity, creates opportunity and brings dignity to the plight of refugees.
Designed as a sheltered, semi-open-air amphitheatre, the Arts Centre serves as a performance venue and community gathering space. It also includes classrooms, music training spaces, and a recording studio. The centre’s roof design, shaped like a funnel to maximise rainwater collection, provides water to the community and supports essential facilities such as a tree nursery and vegetable garden.
“This performing arts centre is not just a building; it’s a testament to the resilience and creativity of displaced communities,” says Mawa Zacharia, a refugee and co-founder of Sina Loketa, a local non-profit organisation committed to working with disadvantaged communities.
“It provides us with a space where we can reclaim our narratives, celebrate our culture, heal from our trauma, and connect with one another.”
Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre’s design speaks to the local heritage and existing architecture of northern Uganda and South Sudan. The design called for local and easily accessible materials for the construction of its walls, which are formed of earth bricks made from local soil. The walls are supplemented by a lightweight steel roof structure prefabricated in Kampala, Uganda. The offset roof protects the earthen walls from adverse weather and offers shade and ventilation for the communities using the space.
The positioning of the bricks allows daylight and ventilation to permeate all spaces. These specific brick patterns also absorb and diffuse sound in the performing space, classroom, and recording studio, further optimising the spaces acoustically. Floor-to-ceiling doors ensure that the centre feels open to the community, welcoming small groups and gatherings of hundreds of people.
The Arts Centre’s impact extends beyond the refugee population, uniting refugee and non-refugee communities through shared cultural expression. Nurturing local talent and promoting cross-cultural dialogue paves the way for a more inclusive and resilient future.
