The Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre in Uganda’s Bidi Bidi refugee settlement demonstrates how creative infrastructure can provide opportunities for healing and self-expression. The refugee settlement, the largest in Africa, is home to around 250,000 refugees from South Sudan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The centre now provides a hub for the community to gather, perform, experiment, create and learn together.

Through previous philanthropic projects, to.org supported Ugandan artists, proving the facility's potential to support artists whose work engenders hope and reinforces community identity. Partnering with NGO Sina Loketa, to.org aims to unite refugee and host communities through music and performance.

Arup, working pro-bono alongside architectural practice Hassell and supported by our community engagement programme, provided integrated concept design advice, bringing together acoustics, venue design, structures, mechanical, sanitation, water, materials, fire safety and lighting/daylighting expertise into the concept and schematic phases. Beyond the concept design, our venues team provided ongoing design input to the technical design by Localworks, the local architect, engineer and contractor, to ensure the core acoustics, theatre and lighting concepts were fully realised.

Following completion of the project in December 2023 and a successful year of use, the refugee and host communities continue to have an accessible and inspirational space to congregate, learn and share within; actions that can help heal and unify communities brought together due to the violent conflict in their home countries. In collaboration with Sina Loketa, it gives a voice to the displaced people in the settlement and provides access to opportunities for quality education, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of people by offering access to potable water and reliable electricity.

People outside Bidi Bidi Arts Centre in Northern Uganda, surrounded by trees and blue skies

Bidi Bidi is Africa’s largest refugee settlement, covering 250km2 and is home to more than a quarter of a million refugees, the majority having fled endemic violent conflict in South Sudan. Youth under the age of 18 comprise 65% of the population.

Human experience 

Bidi Bidi is a refugee settlement of over 250,000 inhabitants in Northern Uganda. To.org, co-founded by Nachson Mimran, set out to pioneer a new model for creative infrastructure, transforming the lived experience in refugee settlements by providing third spaces prioritising creativity for expression, trauma reduction, youth development and community building.

We developed a holistic experience design concept for the venue, guided by its key experiential characteristics: communal, playful and poetic. To achieve this, careful consideration was given to the ways in which space, sound, light and other aspects interact to shape the character of the building. Furthermore, the venue is designed to be highly flexible and functional to serve a range of artistic and community programming.

Designing the performance space

The performance space is the focal point of the centre; a natural gathering space that draws people in with a welcoming and intimate atmosphere. Our design of the amphitheatre-style seating is equally well suited to informal gathering as it is to more formal presentation of a range of artistic activity, with excellent sightlines for music and dance. However, unlike a traditional amphitheatre, there is shelter from the elements and a sense of enclosure provided by the roof and earth brick walls.

The detail and geometry of these elements was designed to create an acoustic which supports both amplified music and traditional instrumentation, as well as providing suitable daylighting for performances.

Rainwater collecting gutters in the roof were made using clear polycarbonate, allowing daylight to enter from a variety of angles above and in front of the performers. The performance space was designed to be accessible to all people, including children, the elderly and those with restricted mobility, with level connections to the stage from the foyer and to the audience area.

Inside Bidi Bidi Arts Centre at the inauguration event, with performances on stage with onlooking audience

The community's inauguration in early December 2023 featured a diverse array of performances, ranging from traditional South Sudanese music and dance to contemporary choreography. The centre's opening marks a significant milestone in demonstrating the transformative power of participatory arts in refugee settlements.

Children singing with recording equipment inside the Arts Centre

Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre illustrates the potential to transform the lived experience in refugee settlements by providing third spaces which prioritise creativity as a tool for expression, trauma reduction and youth development.

Space for creation and recording

The studio broadens the reach of Bidi Bidi’s artists by providing music recording, rehearsal and podcasting capabilities in a more protected and focussed environment. Our primary challenge was to achieve sound isolation from adjacent spaces while naturally ventilating the room. The studio is fully enclosed in earth brick walls, which were used in a variety of patterns to provide the isolation, absorption and scattering of sound necessary for optimised acoustics. 

We adopted a cross-ventilation strategy to minimise the size of the ventilation openings, which can be closed for short periods for enhanced privacy or opened to ventilate and cool the room during less sensitive activities. Daylight shines through controlled openings in the outer wall and through hundreds of recycled glass bottles cast into the ceiling. Drawing on the use of materials and layers of acoustic wall textures, our design approach creates a high quality and engaging environment in which to experiment and create.

Children sat around and climbing on frame of Bidi Bidi's new fresh water facility

Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre also provides freshwater facilities which are essential for a community where food and water shortages are rapidly worsening due to climate change.

Freshwater facilities

As well as providing a source of daylight to the performance space, the clear polycarbonate rainwater channels and the building’s “funnel” design also includes vital facilities for rainwater collection that provide water to the community. The 200,000 litre capacity water tank has the capability to provide 1.2 million litres of water every year, 70% of which will pass directly to the community, with the remaining 30% being used to irrigate the community vegetable garden and orchard.

The thousands of fruit trees planted by to.org has established a vibrant permaculture demonstration garden, fostering sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship while providing agriculture opportunities and a source of fresh produce in the aftermath of the massive reduction in UNHCR food rations across Uganda since 2021. 

Through their dedication, collaborative mindset and skill, Hassell and Arup have played a vital role in bringing our vision to life. Their generosity in donating countless hours to design and construction highlights their commitment to empowering communities worldwide. Without their support and expertise, Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre would not have been possible

Nachson Mimran

Co-founder and Creative Executive Officer of to.org   

Partners & collaborators

Hassell Studio / LocalWorks (Uganda) / Playing for Change Foundation / Sina Loketa NGO