Interview with Mr. Abdulaziz, founder of Wejha Art Center & coworking space for creative artists

While researching for coworking spaces for the artists' community, we found this interesting addition located in Kuwait. A wholly dedicated coworking space and community for artists of all genres and variety.
Interesting because when I reached out to the founder, Mr. Abdulaziz, he mentioned unable to view coworkingspace.com as he does not have permission to access (I am assuming people do not have permission to access external sites in Kuwait). 

That is a real shame as it cuts off locals from rest of the world. So while the landing page of Wejha Art Center & coworking space shows just a photo of a studio with only contact information, Wejha infact is a highly active community and coworking space. Here is a short Q& A with the founder where he talks about his idea, the coworking space and community.  

- What is the idea behind launching this space for artists? 

In Kuwait, we do not have a space that gathers different artists together as a work area and a gallery. So I’ve decided to create this space to give artists the opportunity to collaborate and work together. We also provide them with marketing and exposure to the public.

- Looking at the website page it feels the coworking space is for painters only. Is that correct?

We accept every type of artists.

- Who participates in the community:

Artists, musicians, painters, sculptors, calligraphers, photographers, graphic designers and movie makers

- How often does it happen (once a month, week etc) 

The space is open 24/7 for members (artists) and we do a different type of events monthly and different workshops weekly.

- What has been the reaction of participants 

It’s a new idea for our country, it needs time for people to get used to it.

- Are you getting a good response? 

Yes definitely.

- Do you provide any desks, workstations or studios?

We do provide 16 private studios with different sizes, besides the meeting room, music studios, cafe, and the coworking space.

- Are new people allowed to visit / participate?

Visitors can come anytime and enjoy their coffee while listening to musicians practising or playing and artists doing their work. For artists, yes we do accept new talents all the time.  

In conclusion, Wejha, despite having just a landing page as a website, harbours a thriving community of talent and provides a much-needed platform to discuss ideas and bring a diverse group of artists together. Hence we always tell our readers, if you don't find information on the website or Facebook page of a coworking space, do not assume it is not an active community. Just reach out to us or to the coworking space owners through the contact details on their page/website. You will be often surprised by what you find.