Aamena Vally

The Art of Making reimagines the Johannesburg Gas Works as a community-driven arts institution that decolonizes education through traditional craft. Unlike conventional schools, the project emphasizes learning through practice and mentorship, where knowledge is passed on  by making, observing and creating alongside skilled makers. By bridging  formal academia with informal creative economies, the design foregrounds embodied knowledge, cultural expression and economic inclusion. Studios, workshops and exhibition spaces are organized to center making as both a mode of learning and a process of healing and resistance. The project challenges Eurocentric models of education by positioning traditional art forms as living knowledge systems essential for the present. In an age of digital acceleration and cultural fragmentation, it creates a sustainable, inclusive space where craft remains active, relevant, and transferable to future generations. Ultimately, the proposal envisions an institution that is not a static school, but a living process where traditional craftsmanship informs contemporary architecture, and where making becomes a shared act of decolonization and renewal.