Innovation and creativity go hand in hand and in today's world their importance stands out in any field. Social Entrepreneurship, which seeks solutions to the world's daily challenges, breathes from this combination and that's why it's increasingly important for communities to have spaces that open the way to "thinking outside the box". Kriativu in Chelas, a well-known social neighbourhood in Lisbon, is one of them.

See also in: Social Entrepreneurship: Every community needs a Kriativu space - Balai

If you enter for the first time, Kriativu seems like a chaotic place. As soon as you open the door, you can hear every five minutes:

"Varela, can I use the skateboard?"

"Varela, can you come here?"

"Varela, can I come in to see your trainers?"

There's a group of children and teenagers hanging around the entrance waiting to find out what activities there will be over the next few days. The acceptance of the Kriativu space in the Armador neighbourhood has been very good and quite easy, according to Nuno Varela, the creator of the concept.

"I like to think that Kriativu is a centre for the development of creativity that gives kids space and tools to develop in different areas, be it drawing, music, social entrepreneurship, a thousand things that we already do here with the help of professionals in the field," he explained.

"We have Wilson who helps them with drawing on canvas or trainers, for example, graffiti workshops; me with music, contacts, management, copyright, production, editing or whatever else is needed; Tibunga, who is an international model, supports them with social entrepreneurship and fashion. We also give them some tools for brand development, among other things," she said.

It's a small space where big activities take place and if one day there's a trainer customisation workshop, another there's a music session with great national and international DJs and rappers, or even an art exhibition of paintings or photography. Diversity finds no limits in creativity and the fact that the house is always full is centred precisely on the great community support that the space has enjoyed since 2021.

Nuno Varela, the creator of Kriativu, brought together two other friends with similar paths of African descent who had also triumphed through culture and creativity, in order to structure a cultural space aimed at interaction.

Of Cape Verdean parents, a mother from Assomada and a father from Tarrafal on the island of Santiago, Varela was born in Portugal and lived his entire childhood and a large part of his adult life in Chelas. Better known as the Godfather, for having sponsored many cultural causes, he realised during his time in Chelas that the neighbourhood had more to offer than the crime stories in the media. 

He began designing his first project "Hip Hop is Me" almost two decades ago, without imagining that it would be the way to open up a creative space for his community.

With a computer, he made websites with the help of friends, always aligned with the idea of giving Portuguese Hip Hop a new lease of life through specialised journalism. In 2007, the project took to the streets and began to win over the local public, thirsty for information and news about this style of music. 

With many contacts from artists and brands, he quickly started creating festivals and musical activities. In 2012, he created the Knock Out League, which became the biggest Batthel Rap event in the country and in Lusophony, according to Varela. He turned it into an export product, which gave him the wings to create networking on a global level. The Knock Out League is still a successful product today, with the ability to bring visibility to new rap groups.

He has presented podcasts, programmes, organised the most varied events, managed artists, until he became an inseparable brand of Hip Hop. 

In 2021, Varela realised it was time to get back on track. After taking part in a creative fair in Germany, he thought it was time to create a similar project in his own country, even better in Chelas, in the Armador neighbourhood. 

There was a sense of initial friction. Hip hop and the concept of an artistic association didn't seem to go together, but the effort to adapt was mutual. The organisations had to get used to seeing a black figure advocating for a cultural voice in the neighbourhood and Varela also had to adapt to the format that would make the most sense for this idea of opening up a creative space for a community that is constantly subjugated to negative connotations.   

"This space was initially intended for an age group of 15 to 25 and was only going to be open a few days a week," but in the reality of a neighbourhood that still has few opportunities for young people, there was a massive turnout, especially from children who wanted access to the music recording studio, urban painting workshops and bicycles. But also from adults looking for support in filling in documents and citizenship information that they can't find elsewhere.

Kriativu was born at the same time as its sister programme "Chelas é o sítio" (Chelas is the place), which also relies on the support of public figures, especially those linked to music, to change the stigma of the Chelas neighbourhood.

"This multi-purpose room format with BMC (customised trainers), bicycles and music is the concept I would like to replicate if I opened a Kriativu elsewhere with the same graphic identity," he said.  

Kriativu has also become a space with the power to negotiate with local organisations in order to bring more to the community and an example of this is the latest project "Gazeta do Bairro", which combines creativity with citizen journalism in a platform that wants to rewrite the reality of a neighbourhood built on much more than crime.