20th International Gardens Festival: Call for Proposals
20th International Gardens Festival: Call for Proposals now is over!
The International Garden Festival,one of the most important events of its kind in North America and one of the leading annual garden festivals in the world, is launching a call for proposals to select designers to create the new temporary gardens for the Festival for its 20th edition to be held on the site of Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens.
About Competition
The International Garden Festival, presented at the Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens in the Gaspésie region of Québec, Canada is preparing its 20th edition and has issued an international call for proposals to select designers who will create the new temporary gardens that will be presented from June 22, 2019.
For its 20th anniversary edition, the Festival is seeking to explore new directions and continue their exploration of play. “Terrains de jeu” is fertile ground for creativity, encompassing both the notion of compact space and play. The Festival is encouraging designers to imagine spaces that work within the confines of modest parcels all the while offering a big punch. Confronting the planetary challenges of needing to limit growth, developing sustainably and minimizing our ecological impact, the 2019 Festival is a venue where designers will explore the principals of voluntary simplicity all the while offering a footprint for fun. The interactive spaces chosen through this competition will excite, enthrall and envelop visitors. They will be child-friendly without being childish, adventurous without being unsafe. Explore, experiment and celebrate - this is the effect organizer want the 2019 Festival to have. This competition will also be open to students studying in design, environment or other fields.
The Festival encourages participating designers to explore all facets of the garden, from the physical setting (site and context) to creating a range of sensory, emotional and intellectual experiences for the visitor. The Festival sees the garden as a space for creative interaction, while not negating its botanical and horticultural dimensions. The Festival imaginesthe garden as a multi-sensorial space and encourages designers to consider the visitor’s experience in the design of the garden, provoking interaction, participation, exchange and reflection.
The Festival is an opportunity to compare and contrast approaches and engage in a critical examination of the theory and practice of the art of gardens, offering a host of points of view on this contemporary art form to a broad and diversified audience. The goal of the event is to stimulate new creation by presenting temporary projects that question the very idea of the garden in light of its history and its place in today’s society while also allowing visitors to enjoy new sensory experiences.
Applicants are limited to one proposal, either as individuals or multidisciplinary teams. The Festival encourages participants to form multidisciplinary teams to include a landscape architect, architect, artist, designer, engineer, horticulturist, botanist, teacher, scientist, etc. The objective is to favour an approach that encompasses various design disciplines and expertise from various quarters.
The proposal (in French or English) must be sent electronically as 3 separate files:
A) 1 PDF (maximum 10 meg., 300 dpi and RGB mode), presenting the PROJECT with the following documents, in this order:
• A schema 11′′ x 17′′ or A3 with:
- A 180-word text describing the concept and presenting the experience offered to visitors in the proposed garden;
- A layout plan of the garden (at minimum scale of 1/100);
- A list of suggested plants.
• A schema 11′′ x 17′′ or A3 with:
- 2 main views or elevations of the garden (candidate is free to choose the scale);
- A perspective, sketch or rendering, showing the garden in its entirety.
B) 1 JPG IMAGE presenting the PROJECT:
• An overall view of the project in JPG. Maximum size: 13 meg. or 3000 x 4500 pixels.
C) 1 PDF file (maximum 5 meg.) identifying the DESIGNER or the members of the TEAM and presenting the following documents, in this order:
• Presentation page 11′′ x 17′′ or A3 with:
- Title of the project;
- Name of the designer or the members of the team with their profession (architect, landscape architect, artist, etc.);
- City and country of residence;
- An 80-word presentation of the designer or the team;
- Your answer to the following question (70 words): In what way, in your view, will your project contribute to the renewal of the art of the garden?
- A schema 11′′ x 17′′ or A3 presenting up to 3 recent projects by the team and/or its designers.
- Curriculum vitæ of the designers (2 pages maximum per person).
- Complete information (address, telephone, e-mail, web site) ofthe primary contact person of the team.
The gardens wi ll be selected by a jury on the basis of:
• The creative response to the brief for the 2019edition, “Terrains de jeu”;
• The originality, coherence and clarity of the concept and the creative approach;
• The contribution of the proposed approach to the art of the garden and its renewal;
• The positioning or critical basis of the proposal with regard to the practice of garden design.
The selected gardens will be announced in January 2019 on the International Garden Festival website and to international media.
There is no entry fee to participate!
Eligibility
The 20th International Gardens Festival: Call for Proposals is open to all landscape architects, architects, artists and multidisciplinary teams from Canada and abroad. This competition will also be open to students studying in design, environment or other fields.