I Went to Fabrik Party: The Harare Platform Built by Creatives, for Creatives

I finally got the chance to check out Fabrik Party. I grabbed my camera and headed to number 12 Maasdorp Avenue in Belgravia, where I linked up with Ulenni Okandlovu, the platform's co-founder, and Marcus from the team, to talk about their current instalment.

One thing I appreciate about grassroots movements is how otherworldly they feel. You could be dealing with 99 problems, but once you are there, you are teleported to none. See what I did there? I got to see some immersive artwork and watch other creatives in their natural element.

What Fabrik Party is

Fabrik Party is a platform for art and display.^[1] It is a great place to network, get some knowledge on how to navigate the creative space, share new fashion trends and showcase visual art. If you are on the come-up music-wise, it is a great place to drop an EP.

It is curated by creatives for creatives. If you have been in the art space as long as I have, you will appreciate that, because it maintains the integrity of the various art forms.

The grassroots label is earned. Fabrik Party started in 2016 as pop-up photo shoots and only became a public event in 2020, growing from about 28 people to around a thousand participants and guests. The collective behind it, Skeyi and Strobo, is named after the oxen yoke used for ploughing in rural Zimbabwe, a symbol of collaboration, because each part depends on the other. From the start the idea was a space where creatives in the subcultures could collaborate, co-create and spotlight their own work.^[2]

Fun fact: the team told me Fabrik Party has also helped local fashion designers show their work in the UK and other parts of the world. One designer whose path runs through here is Ropafadzo "Kuki" Mapira, who released her first collection, "Unapologetic", at Fabrik Party in October 2023.^[3][4] In August 2026 her streetwear label Soleil walked the runway at Africa Fashion Week London, through the British Council's Creative DNA programme, run in Zimbabwe by Haus of Stone Showroom.^[5][6] The exchange has run the other way too. In May 2025 Skeyi and Strobo and the British Council brought London-based designer Ellen Rock to Harare for five masterclasses and a sustainable fashion runway at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.^[7]

How the convention has grown

The first convention ran from 27 to 29 October 2023 at Alliance Française de Harare, with workshops on the Friday, Chikwata 263 headlining the Saturday and runway shows on the Sunday.^[8] In 2024 it went on the road, with Lusaka and Bulawayo editions before Harare, and Icatha's debut collection was the highlight of that year's runway.^[9] The 2025 edition brought South African artist Muzi to headline and Zambian brands onto the runway, and left people asking what the ceiling of Zimbabwean fashion even is.^[10] By then more than 300 local creatives had collaborated with the platform.^[11]

This year is different, and that is the story. The convention was cut from three public days to two, branded the Participate Edition, because the new Fabrik Party Lab Store on Maasdorp Avenue now hosts creatives daily for networking, trading and creating. For the team, the store is the year's biggest milestone.^[4] Saturday carried the workshops, music, market and a skate jam, put on by the team building Harare's first free skatepark at the same address, and Sunday was fashion and music.^[4] Tickets were $20 in the second phase and $30 at the gate.

What it was like

It was good to reconnect with legends in the game and friends I had not seen in a while. That is the part listings cannot capture. A convention is a programme, but Fabrik Party on the day is a room full of people who have been building this scene for years, plus the ones just arriving, and the two groups actually talk to each other.

For Harare, a permanent address matters more than any single weekend. Back in 2023, Okandlovu's complaint was that young creatives had too few spaces and too little infrastructure to work from.^[2] Three years on, the platform has answered its own complaint with a store that is open Monday to Saturday, and a convention that is now built around it rather than the other way round. If you make clothes, music or art in this city and you have not been to Maasdorp Avenue yet, that is your next stop.

The verdict

Was it wack? No. Was it mid? No. Was it worth it? Absolutely. If making meaningful art that can take you places is something you value, this is the place to be. From industry gems to networking, I'd say they are culture.