The interior of the Bonnevoie building where Hariko has been hosted since its inception in 2015 Hariko/Facebook

The interior of the Bonnevoie building where Hariko has been hosted since its inception in 2015 Hariko/Facebook

Hariko was temporarily located in a former industrial building in Bonnevoie’s Dernier Sol since 2015 but must vacate the premises before September.

According to RTL, the town of Esch-sur-Alzette is interested in hosting the project, which has become synonymous with refugee support groups. For this, the broadcaster hints that the former court of justice could provide an ideal home. The commune of Ettelbruck, in the centre of the country, has also expressed an interest. Managed by the Luxembourg Red Cross, RTL suggests the project could even be spread over three sites in the north, centre and south. The education ministry has reportedly pledged financial support for the project.

Hariko was initiated as an art project for young people aged from 12 to 26. Director Marianne Donven told Delano in a 2017 interview that since it opened at the same time as a large number of refugees arrived in Luxembourg, it “turned into a little bit of an integration project”.

Funded from the Oeuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, the project offers low cost creative spaces for artists in exchange for workshops on anything from yoga, to theatre, dance, carpentry and graffiti.

The same building also hosted Digital Inclusion, improving digital literacy for people in Luxembourg on low incomes by refurbishing and distributing unwanted laptops and computers. In February 2018, Digital Inclusion moved to temporary offices on Route de Thionville.