A Studio in Mufakose

Enorah Arts Network in Mufakose, Harare, is a community studio constructed by Florence Ncube and her co-researchers in January-March 2025. The ideas for the studio and its various uses came from the people of Mufakose in the course of Florence's ethnographic fieldwork, and they have been in key roles in constructing, maintaining, managing, and making music in the studio.
Constructing the Studio Florence co-designed her research with people in her area of Harare, a suburb called Mufakose. They experimented with many brilliant methods, but the idea of making music continued to enchant them. “But we do not have the place to do that”, Pablo constantly reminded everyone of this challenge each time the issue came up.

One day, Tinashe, a.k.a Diesel volunteered to speak to his aunt. He said: “I can talk to my aunt... She lives alone, she will agree because she wants to go and stay in South Africa with her children, but she will need someone to take care of the place”. A few days later, Diesel organized a meeting with his elderly aunt, Gogo Maglazi. She offered Florence's team one room at the back of her semi-finished house. Gogo Maglazi requested the team to look after the place well and that they pay for electricity. The team were excited to have the space, but it required some serious renovations.

So, the renovation work began. Florence's team members requested some wall filler, sandpaper, paint brushes, paint and paint drops and ceiling boards and screws then the work began. Under the supervision of Major and Makede, they would work in the room for at least 9 hours a day. Others removed the old door frames and doors, builders Khule Mundhevere and Serg rebuilt the doorways; Kupa and Ticha welded screen gates and designed and painted metal doors. Major did the electrical work, and McCloud Kapfumvute built a beautiful board ceiling. Worse96 and DJ Timmy soundproofed the studio with plywood and other materials. Meanwhile Florence and her research associate Claire, Tadie, and Nyasha would make food for the whole team.

The team had to do some water maintenance work outside the studio because the water pipes were rusty and the water was not running properly. When the water issue was resolved, the yard needed to be paved, so team members bought bricks, cement and sand and stones for the paving to begin. Later, they purchased and installed solar panels on the roof to secure reliable access to electricity. They also installed a security alarm to protect the studio equipment and a bright streetlight to provide visibility and safety in the previously unlit road leading to the studio.
A music studio with recording equipment. Paint peeling off an interior wall. A truck loaded with bricks and bags. Fresh concrete floor in a corridor. A person digging a drain to fix leakages in the yard. Two men building wooden frames. Men using tools to build soundproofing boards out of plywood. A person attaching soundproofing boards onto studio walls. A man in a green t-shirt measuring a white board. A man building a white board ceiling.
The Community's Studio The studio is a site of community-building, music-making, and ethnographic knowledge production. Check their YouTube channel Norah Community Network!

What services are available at the studio?

• Digital recording
• Live band recording
• Podcast recording
• Guitar and piano classes
• Corporate adverts
• Live band gigs

Who does the studio serve?

The studio is open to members of the Mufakose community and anyone else who is passionate about music and the arts. So far, the studio has five seasoned, local musicians who make up the studio’s live band (Elder Spencer, Uncle Ambuj, Uncle Hofo, Overseer) and nine budding artists in its stable (Michigan, Zebra Fire, Sense Fire, Danger Might, Clayton, Gracious, Ocean, Ano, Mufakose 1 Secondary school band).

Since it started operating, the studio has become the place where young members of the community check in to record their music or sit through their friends' rehearsals. They come to have conversations about their experiences and trending social issues and to learn how to compose songs. Elder Spencer and Uncle Ambuj have been working with a group of four youths whom they teach how to play the rhythm and bass guitars, piano and drums.
A certificate of incorporation. A man in a white shirt playing a trapset. A man in a yellow jacket singing into a microphone. A man sitting behind studio equipment. Two men standing and singing while two musicians are playing the guitar and drums in a studio. A man in a white t-shirt singing into a microphone.