Braamfontein Studio (2016-2017)

Braamfontein is the inner-city high-rise and mixed-use neighbourhood which interfaces with the southern and eastern sides of the Wits main campus. The Braamfontein Studio took place during the height of the #FeesMustFall student protests, many of which took place in the streets of Braamfontein, outside the University gates, particularly as campus security was intensified. The Braamfontein Studio collaborated with the Urban Orders Research Centre at Aarhus University. The Studio had a highlight in a workshop at the end of 2016, co-organised with and funded by the Urban Orders project. This included student activists, reflecting and articulating the various strands of the #FeesMustFall movement. The workshop, which was conceptualised around the concept of ‘urban orders’, and its programme appear here. A final report captures the deliberations, which reflected and attempted to make sense of the tumultuous time in which youth succeeded (at times violently) in drawing attention to deepening inequality, barriers to access and intergeneration exclusion.

This edition of the City Studio was directed by Dr Solam Mkhabela (2016), Dr Brian Boshoff (2017).