Our beloved QTBIPOC-centered activist collective and community center in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, is in dire need of renovations in order to play a key role in future anticapitalist activism.
We are a new generation of activists in BumZen, who are inheriting an amazing house with a rich history and great importance for the extra parliamentarian- and radical left groups in Copenhagen and beyond. We bring with us a new vision and commitment to center those of us with first hand experience of state racism, heterosexism and transphobia in our housing politics and daily lives, and have recently decided to create a QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) separatist living collective within the house. We envision BumZen as a hub for QTBIPOC, antifascist, anticapitalist and anarchist organizing and community building, a safer space for basis- and support group meetings, a library, a venue for the underground music scene, art and performances, a DIY space where we teach each other how to build, repair, grow vegetables, etc., a bar to hold support parties for various radical left groups, a donation-based community kitchen, a homely and functional collective, and an emergency housing place for comrades in need. To continue and further our work, the house will need some major renovations this summer, to make it safe for those living and spending time here, and avoid fines and a potential eviction in the future.
Why we need your support
We urgently need donations to reach these political visions and to rejuvenate the community around the house. Since our squat was legalized and renovated in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, no major maintenance renovations have been made. This leaves us with an old house very much in need of renovations, including several big structural issues. Additionally, the corona crisis has cut off all the fundraising activity we usually get through running the bar, which means we are struggling to get by covering regular bills, let alone a huge renovation.
The issues we need to fix this summer include several broken windows, cracks in the facade, electrical issues, an unstable staircase, lacking isolation and a malfunctioning heating system. We value DIY in the collective, and will, as much as possible, fix things ourselves with help from comrades with building experience. The money we are able to raise will therefore go to building materials, as well as payment for professional help for the few issues we cannot fix ourselves. We will be posting updates of our renovations all summer, so you can follow our progress at @bumzen_collective on Instagram. We will also be doing callouts for practical solidarity, so stay tuned!
New beginnings in BumZen
BumZen was squatted as a part of the BZ movement in 1986, and then legalized a few years later, as the only squatted house in Denmark. Since then, it has been a central space for the Copenhagen radical left to meet, party, organize, discuss, build power, and live collectively. BumZen is located in Nørrebro, one of the last neighborhoods in Copenhagen to still retain some of its historic working class and migrant communities, and is a stronghold against gentrification in the area.
In the 2010’s collectivists put effort into making BumZen safer for femme, queer and trans collectivists. Our vision for the 2020’s, is to build on the work of those before us, by expanding these ideas to include and center those who find themselves at the intersection of sexism/transphobia/heterosexism and racism/anti-Blackness/Islamophobia/the border regime. We want to engage actively with dismantling these oppressive power structures on the streets, as well as in our home.
Please support us in creating a new BumZen that echoes the current struggles in our community and that once again hold space for all the dreams and visions for our movements.
What the money will go to
Here you can see our approximate budget for what we are fundraising for!
1st milestone - 2500 € - Fire safety
If we reach our first milestone of 2500 € (approx. 18.500 kr), we will fix all of BumZen’s major fire hazards! We will buy smoke and gas alarms and fire extinguishers, we will fix the cut electricity wires dangling from various places around the house, we will seal the pipes of the old fireplace system, and we will get new gas pipes for the kitchen stoves. Help us keep BumZen safe!
2nd milestone - 5000 € - Make BumZen warmer
If we reach our second milestone, a total of 5000 € (approx. 37.000 kr), we can make BumZen warmer, by isolating doors, windowframes and walls, fixing the floor heating system in the kitchen, fixing malfunctioning radiators and maybe even getting a few more radiators! We will also fix all the old windows and replace the broken glass in them. This will make winters so much more livable in BumZen, not just for collectivists but for all who organize, cook community kitchen and come for support group meetings in the house.
3rd milestone - 7500 € - Common areas
If we reach our third milestone, a total of 7500 € (approx. 55.700 kr), we will fix up the common areas in BumZen, specifically the courtyard, bar and lounge where we host many events, parties, concerts, performances and support group meetings. We will also renovate our glass roof, where we grow vegetables, have sleeping spaces for overnighting guests, and a meeting space for basis groups, various activist groups and weekly house meetings. We hope these renovations will make it easier and more accessible for our comrades to hold support parties, events and meetings in BumZen!
4th milestone - 10.000 € - Guest room
If we reach our fourth milestone, a total of 10.000 € (approx. 74.000 kr), we will fix the attic guest room and make it liveable, functional and cosy as an emergency housing space for comrades in need. The guest room is available free of charge to comrades who are homeless, in the asylum seeking process, or in other crisis situations. To make the room more accessible, we want to build safer stairs up to the attic, put up a wall to prevent falls down the main staircase, fix a broken wall inside the room, install electrical outlets, isolate and paint. We also need to take down the remainder of the old terrace, which is now a major safety threat, and possibly build a new one - for that we will need to put up scaffolding on the outside of the building. Help us make it possible to offer a nice, warm room to comrades in need!
5th milestone - 13.000 € - Outer walls
If we reach our fourth milestone, a total of 13.000 € (approx. 100.000 kr whoop whoop!), we fix our outer walls. There are some cracks that need to be fixed, and then we give the house a badly needed fresh coat of paint! Corona permitting, this will be a community event, so let’s make it happen and spend a fun summer day together, giving BumZen a shiny new makeover. We can’t wait!
101% of €2500
€ 2530 reached in total
-1048 days left
