Express interest
Tell us who you are and what your school would like to explore. A staff member can begin the conversation before formal approval.
For schools, students & families
Give student voice somewhere meaningful to go.
A supported creative journey for schools that want young people to express themselves, listen to one another and build the confidence to navigate life beyond the result.
One school. Different responsibilities.
The answers
your team needs.
For heads & boards
A clear educational purpose. A manageable commitment.
Give student voice a structured place alongside learning and school culture. Review the participation scope, staffing, calendar, safeguarding and costs before the school commits.
- Your school retains its institutional responsibilities.
- A named coordinator, arts lead and safeguarding contact create clear ownership.
- Participation does not label your school or its students as having a mental-health problem.
For arts & culture teams
Creative ambition with a clear starting point.
Choose a theme, interpret the briefs and help students produce work with meaning and artistic quality. One school can use several art forms within its chosen theme.
- Twenty elective briefs across five themes, plus one shared legacy response.
- A staged process of making, critique, curation and presentation.
- Rehearsal, technical needs and additional workload agreed in advance.
For pastoral & safeguarding
Student voice, with boundaries that protect it.
Build expression around fictional, symbolic and shared themes. Private disclosures follow the school’s safeguarding process; they do not automatically become festival content.
- No forced disclosure, diagnosis through art or pupil counselling.
- Separate permissions for participation, display, recording and research.
- Safety and consent checks happen before artistic judging.
For finance & operations
Agree the whole commitment before saying yes.
Review the school’s complete participation scope, including fees, training, materials, transport, attendance and supervision. Public package prices are not yet confirmed.
- A no-payment expression of interest starts the discussion.
- School and family costs are clarified before institutional commitment.
- The timetable, additional rehearsals and delivery responsibilities are agreed together.
For parents & guardians
Hear more. Understand more. Stay involved.
The festival invites you into young people’s creative thinking without asking them to expose private experiences. School communication and clear permissions are part of the journey.
- Young people can use imagination and metaphor.
- Publicity and recording permissions are distinct from participation.
- Costs, travel and supervision arrangements are clarified before commitment.
For students
Your idea matters. Your private story belongs to you.
Paint it, perform it, film it, write it or design it. Choose a question that matters and work with others to make something an audience can feel, understand or act on.
- You never have to share a diagnosis, trauma or family story.
- A powerful idea can be fictional, symbolic or collective.
- Outside the core school group? Ask a parent, guardian or teacher about Open Studio.
The school journey
From the first question
to the final applause—and beyond.
The target is 30 core schools, each taking part in the preparation, public presentation and follow-through.
Agree the fit
The school and Secretariat discuss age groups, creative strengths, staffing, calendar, costs and logistics before institutional commitment.
Prepare together
Name your team, choose a theme and creative briefs, sign the school pledge and schedule the Mental Health Hour. Complete the agreed guidance and training.
Create, share & continue
Curate work, complete permissions, prepare attendance and supervision, then review what your school will carry forward after the festival.
Fits into the school rhythm
A protected hour.
A connected programme.
The Mental Health Hour brings the conversations and creative process into one agreed place in the timetable.
Schedule 45–60 minutes at least once every three weeks. Use Life Skills or another suitable period; weekly sessions are possible where the school can sustain them. Extra rehearsals and specialist training are agreed separately.
Explore the Mental Health HourWhat your school provides
People, time
and responsible care.
- A coordinator, an arts lead and a safeguarding contact.
- Protected preparation time and school review of work.
- Parent communication, permissions and supervision.
- Agreed travel, attendance and post-festival reflection.
Schools retain responsibility for their students. The festival’s guidance and agreed partner inputs support that responsibility.
A wider circle of young voices
Your school is not
in the core cohort?
The planned national digital Open Studio route offers another way for eligible school-age students to submit work, with age checks, guardian consent and curation. Selection and any public presentation depend on capacity.
Register Open Studio interestAge-appropriate participation
The festival has an adolescent focus, approximately ages 10–19. The Grades 5–7 pathway is being developed separately and remains subject to school approval, suitable content and safeguarding arrangements.
Students under 18 should ask a parent, guardian or authorised teacher to submit the interest form. This is not yet an artwork submission portal.
Before your school decides
Practical questions.
Clear answers.
What will participation cost?
School fees and final package inclusions have not yet been announced. Costs will depend on the agreed scope, training, attendance and logistics. The Secretariat will clarify school and family costs before commitment. Joining the waitlist is free and creates no financial obligation.
When and where will it happen?
The festival is planned for three consecutive days during the First Term 2027 mid-term break in Harare. Exact dates are pending. The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is the selected exhibition and fashion venue, subject to written agreement; a separate live-performance venue will be announced. Lomagundi is the presenting anchor and founding institutional host.
Will students be asked to discuss private or painful experiences?
No. Students can work with fiction, metaphor, collective themes and approved public stories. There is no requirement to share trauma, diagnosis, private bereavement or family circumstances. A safeguarding concern follows the appropriate adult-led process.
Can a teacher register before the head approves participation?
Yes. A teacher or Head of Culture can register early interest and receive the information needed for an internal discussion. Formal school participation requires the appropriate institutional approval.
Are all submitted works guaranteed a place in the programme?
No. Work is subject to school curation and festival review for artistic fit, safety, originality, rights, permissions, technical feasibility and capacity. Final submission specifications will follow programme and venue confirmation.
Is research compulsory?
No. The proposed Learning Lab is separate, conditional and opt-in. Research requires institutional and ethics approval, funding and appropriate consent. Declining research does not prevent festival participation.
What about accessibility and support needs?
Discuss access, communication, sensory, travel and supervision needs during the school-fit conversation. Final venue and activity arrangements will determine what can be provided. Do not include a student’s health or safeguarding details in the general interest form.
The next chapter starts with interest
Bring your school into the conversation.
Start with an expression of interest. Review the scope, responsibilities and costs before making an institutional commitment.
Join the waitlistNo payment. No commitment. A conversation comes next.