International Garden Festival: The Ecology of Possibility
Architecture Competition call for proposals has been issued for the International Garden Festival’s 25th Edition, opening on June 21, 2024, at Les Jardins de Métis | Reford Gardens. Designers are being sought out to create new temporary gardens for the event.
2024 Theme – The ecology of possibility
It’s time to celebrate – in 2024, the International Garden Festival will be 25 years old! This special anniversary is an excellent reason to celebrate, but it also serves as an invitation to reflect on the last quarter of a century. We want to go back in time and ask ourselves – what inspired the first edition during the turn of the millennium? What topics and themes have been addressed? How have perspectives and beliefs shifted? What kind of future do we want for the gardens? Established in 2000, the International Garden Festival has consistently supported the exploration of the craft of gardening. The inaugural edition featured 8 unique creations that highlighted the nature-culture relationship.
While this general theme still applies, the concepts discussed and the strategies used have since progressed. Over the past 25 years, our ideas on various topics have changed, we use more complex terminology, and it’s more urgent than ever to do something about the climate crisis. It is now widely accepted that humans cannot understand nature in isolation, and that the concepts of nature and culture are closely intertwined. In modern times, the main purpose of a garden (public or private) is to prioritize sustainability. Therefore, promoting biodiversity and carefully selecting plants that work well with the environment. In light of these ideologies, what does the future hold for the garden? We believe it’s grounded in a holistic, collaborative approach that genuinely connects with living creatures.
Candidate eligibility
Individuals and teams are invited to submit a single proposal to the call for proposals for the Festival of Gardens. Participants can be from a single city or country, or span international boundaries. Chosen designers are expected to design a garden for one or more of the Festival axes. Selecting the most suitable site with the artistic and technical committee. The garden should be exhibited for at least two summers, and propose means of repurposing or recycling the garden and its materials after the end of the showcase. Designers who have exhibited in the last three editions of the Festival (2020, 2021, and 2022) are not eligible for this call for proposals.
Deadline to Submit Proposals
Electronic proposals must be submitted by Monday, November 20th, 2023 at 5:00 PM EST. Applications received after the aforementioned deadline will not be considered.
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