The Skeyi and Strobo Fabrik Party series of events continue growing with the latest being the second edition of the three-day Fabrik Party Convention which took place last week at Alliance Francaise in Harare.
The event, held from October 25 to 27, was curated by creative art, design and event platform Skeyi & Strobo (SS). It featured an eclectic mix of subcultures powered by young people.
The convention commenced last Friday, featuring selected speakers such as Usher Nyambi (Rolling Stone Africa), who discussed Bridging Gaps: Connecting People, Skills and Communities for Collective Growth.
In his talk, Nyambi addressed the need to collaborate and create tribes with similar interests for collective problem-solving. He gave a detailed presentation on authenticity when sharing creative work with a global audience.
“I believe the next great ideas are in this room and by believing in ourselves we can change the narrative of what it means to be a creative from Zimbabwe. The world is eager to consume content from Zimbabwe and it is our responsibility to give it to them,” Nyambi said.
During her slot, entrepreneur Chido Chidziwo shared expertise on effective storytelling for creative brands and social media optimisation.
The workshop was graced by South Africa-based creatives Mpumelelo “Frypan” Mfula, Kabelo “Freshthings” Sello and Kgotso “Slem” Seloma.
Mfula is a creative entrepreneur and host of NBA Life, a National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball lifestyle show broadcast on SABC 2, while Sello and Seloma are the founders of Kombonation, a South African conglomerate that merges photography and fashion.
- Fabrik Party on the move... hosts second edition
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Like SS Fabrik Party’s local artistic activations, the duo who are graduates of The Market Photo Workshop school of photography in Johannesburg, which is committed to highlighting projects led by creative youths from Soweto, South Africa, comprising DJs, scriptwriters, stylists and other creative visionaries.
Speaking about their debut in the creative space of Soweto, Seloma shared with IndependentXtra how they started with an exhibition at Kabelo’s home.
“We wanted to introduce art in the townships, we don’t really have galleries around there so we wanted to turn Kabelo’s home into a gallery space so that people could be acquainted with art and be able to take it home,” Seloma said.
However, in an Instagram post, SS said this year’s line-up of workshops is meant to stimulate and equip our community of creatives with the skills they need to advance their brands and creative practices.
Additionally, attendees enjoyed a do-it-yourself screen-printing pop-up experience courtesy of Chjaa, a local fashion and lifestyle brand.
Skate enthusiasts gathered on Saturday at the Zimbabwe Creative and Cultural Arts (Zicca) space for a skateboarding event dubbed Skate City.
Zicca is located at the Old Greatermans Building in the city centre.
The final day featured vinyl sessions, fashion shows and DJ sets with appearances by King Billius and Kombonation, among others.
It included live music sets with performances from Mokoomba lead guitarist Trust Samende and Rwanda-bound Bantu Spaceships.
Some of the designers and stylists who showcased their brands at the convention included Orange Minimalist, D.O.E., Icatha, Pezzecul!ar, Inomusainkosi, Soleil and MaChuma Accessories and others.
Ever since its inception in 2020, the platform has been navigating towards being a space for cultural consumption and production.
Last year, the convention featured a Designers Marathon and City to City Activations that showcased creatives from Gweru, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Chinhoyi.
