“Everyone is free to build their own playground”

Stefanie Gubser has just returned from Cape Town. There, she and her business partner Nicki are building Nomad Studios, a platform for contemporary visual artists from various African countries. They met through a joint project: her current partner painted the cover for Gubser’s new album, Kaleidoscope: “Our sisterhood turned into a joint start-up.”

Nomad Studios sells posters of artworks, raises the profile of young artists and builds a local community through exhibitions, podcasts and live events. “I realised that I wanted to encourage people to discover their purpose.”

Gubser is a singer, cultural organiser, entrepreneur, curator and networker. “I’ve always said I have ten lives running in parallel. And that’s how I live.” From the outside, that seems like a lot. For her, it all fits together: “All these little fragments embrace one another. They’re like different organs that together form a body.”

Zurich isn’t too small for her. “I love Zurich. It’s where my roots are.” At the same time, she needs a change of perspective – Cape Town, Nairobi, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam have changed her view of everyday life, time, success and community. “For a long time, I thought I was a free spirit. Then I realised how strongly I am shaped by my background.”

She notices this in simple things: food culture, smells, climate, friendships, routines. In other societies, different answers emerge to the question of what is important in life. “To be able to reinvent your own worlds, you have to keep casting your gaze into new perspectives.”

Gubser speaks openly about privilege. By this she does not mean merely material wealth or social background: “It is also a privilege to feel safe, to be seen, to be loved, and to go through life with the feeling that the world is wide open to you.” Privileges are not exclusively tied to geographical origin or the Western world. The feeling of being seen, of experiencing safety, of feeling a sense of belonging and hope, can arise anywhere – regardless of where a person lives.

For Gubser, privilege is not a cause for guilt, but for awareness. People need an environment that supports them: access to resources, trust, functioning structures and people who open doors for them. “I have learnt that one need not feel guilty about privilege, but one should be aware of it.”

This gives rise to a sense of responsibility: to contribute one’s own part to the common good and to empower others. For Gubser, capitalism is not fundamentally at odds with this. But pure growth is no longer enough for her. “Everything that is taken must also be given back.” She provisionally calls this idea symbiosis or synergism – a way of thinking based on mutual reinforcement, responsibility and regenerative cycles.

With the Zukunftshaus, Gubser is working with Till Fülscher and the KurzenProzess association to develop a vision for Zurich – a publicly accessible institution dedicated to curiosity about the future, self-efficacy and democratic participation. “We don’t say what the future will be like. We open up a space to shape it.”

The plan is for a space of 3,000 to 5,000 square metres, open to all generations and backgrounds. It is intended to be a place where art, science, technology, culture and social dialogue come together. Not as a traditional exhibition, but as an immersive experience involving spaces, light, sounds, smells, touch and dialogue.

“The future should not be explained, but explored together.” In the run-up to the potential opening in 2032, formats such as a forum and a festival will be developed. The aim is to alleviate fears about the future and encourage people to move from being spectators to becoming active participants. “We are not on the outside. We are helping to shape it.”

Her music as Pina Jung also follows this principle: “For me, it’s not about the glitz on stage. It’s about exploring what is unique to the individual and what we share.” For her, art is a place where utopia becomes possible: “I believe art gives the mind back its freedom.”

For a long time, she did not place herself at the centre. Today, she sees visibility differently: “Not because I think I’m so important, but because I realise: that also means taking responsibility.”

“Everyone is allowed to build their own playground,” says Gubser at the end of our conversation. Identity, she adds, is not a prison. Rather, background, upbringing, privilege and opportunity are the building blocks for shaping these playgrounds. This is also about self-confidence. And empowerment: “Every person has potential. Every person has that spark of desire. I want to make space for that spark of desire.”