Blueprints of Paradise involves African architects, artists and visionaries in directing the presentation of contemporary Africa at a large scale. How do you think we could present contemporary and future Africa in terms of architecture? With this initiative, the Afrika Museum (www.afriakmuseum.nl) seeks to embody contemporary Africa, its vitality and its aspirations. The project has been developed in collaboration with African Architecture Matters (closely related to ArchiAfrika), an organization which has gained a significant position in the world of African architecture. Combining expertise, networks and capacity is vital to the success of this project.
AFRICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL?
You love your African roots, you are an architect or artist or a visionaire and have a future vision of Africa - sign up for the competition:
BLUEPRINTS OF PARADISE
We invite African architects, artists and visionaries to send in their presentations showing future visions for Africa.
Two Dutch organisations, the Afrika Museum (Berg en Dal) and African Architecture Matters
(Utrecht) have set up a competition in which African Architects can demonstrate their ideas
for future Africa. Too often, plans for Africa are made on Western drawing tables. These plans barely fit today’s reality. African cities, for example, are indisputably modern, but different from modern cities in the West. The same goes for the villages, transport hubs and all other parts of African society that often go unnoticed to ‘outsiders’.
We strongly believe the best way to predict the future is to create it!
Are you up for the challenge?
Nature of the entries:
1. The entries may take the form of models, panels, digital files, films, videos, texts or
other media.
2. The entries may show ideas on how to present future Africa, but can also show a
typical phenomenon which you consider of importance for future Africa. The
commission will also accept executed or proposed projects which present African
society’s ambitions.
3. Projects can be of any scale and size. Your contribution might concern a detail, an
artwork, a building, private or public space or an urban plan.
4. The projects can be related to a specific location, but this is not obligatory. The entry
doesn’t even have to be specifically related to the African continent. However, all
contributions have to concern African ambitions.
5. Each entry should at least contain a project description (PDF – max 500 words) and a
picture (max 10 MB) or video file (max 3 minutes). You can also send in your entry by
post.
Questions and queries on the assignment and competition:
All participants are allowed to ask questions on the assignment via the website. The answers
will be given as soon as possible, usually within a couple of days. The questioner remains
anonymous, the question and the answer will be visible to all participants.
Jury and selection:
The jury selecting the winning proposals includes Manthia Diawara, Lesley Lokko, Joe Osae-Addo, AbdouMaliq Simone and Femke van Zeijl. For a profile on jury members please see: http://www.afrikamuseum.nl/blog/jury.
25 entries will be selected be shown in the main exhibition hall of the Afrika Museum in Berg en Dal (the Netherlands) from April – October 2011.
From the submitted projects the jury will take into account:
• A balance in the size and scale of the projects
• The entry’s creativity and expressiveness
Prizes:
From the 25 selected entries the jury will select three prize winners:
1st prize: € 7.500
2nd prize: € 5.000
3rd prize: € 2.500
All prize winners are invited to attend the opening of the exhibition. The ranking will be made
public at the opening of the exhibition.
The public will also be asked to vote for the ‘public award’ via the museum’s website. The selected
entries will be presented at the website, where visitors can leave their comments and
preference. The winner of the public award will be invited for the event and all travel and
accommodation costs will be covered.
Do you know others you think would like to participate?
Below are attached (in English & French) the competition posters. You can Download them and send them to your friend, or print it out and post it somewhere you think others could learn about the competition.
The deadline for submissions: 15 October 2010
For more inspiration & information on how to submit, rules & regulations and frequently asked questions please visit the competition website at:
www.afrikamuseum.nl/blog
Afrika Museum: www.afrikamuseum.nl
African African Architecture Matters: www.aamatters.nl
