The 2026 Suseong International Visual Arts Competition
Competition Brief
The 2026 Suseong International Visual Arts Competition for Architecture and Landscape is an open ideas competition organised by the Suseong International Biennale Organizing Committee and the Suseong Culture Foundation in Daegu, South Korea. The competition forms part of the 2026 Suseong International Biennale programme, held under the curatorial theme “Living Ground,” and invites visual works that engage with the relationship between ground, ecology, architecture, and inhabited landscape. Entries are accepted from participants worldwide across two age-based categories, and selected works enter both the awards programme and the Biennale’s public exhibition around Suseongmot Lake.
Summary
An international visual arts competition on architecture and landscape under the theme “Living Ground.” One A3 digital artwork per person, submitted by email by 11 September 2026. Total prize pool of KRW 10,000,000 across youth and general divisions, with public exhibition at the Suseong International Biennale.
Essential Data
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Organiser | Suseong International Biennale Organizing Committee / Suseong Culture Foundation |
| Competition Type | Open ideas competition — visual artwork |
| Location / Site Reference | Suseongmot Lake, Sanghwa Garden, Suseong-gu, Daegu, South Korea |
| Eligibility | Open worldwide, split into Youth (ages 10–18) and General (ages 19+) |
| Registration Fee | Not stated in the official brief — verify with the organiser |
| Submission Deadline | Friday, 11 September 2026 |
| Total Prize Pool | KRW 10,000,000 |
| Submission Email | compe@makerpns.co.kr |
| Contact | Suseong Culture Foundation, +82-53-668-1541 |
| Official Website | www.sscf.or.kr |
About the Competition
The competition is a curatorial extension of the 2026 Suseong International Biennale, which frames its programme around the concept of “Living Ground” — an interpretation of the earth beneath us not as an inert surface but as an active, layered, and relational element within ecological, cultural, and architectural systems. The brief challenges participants to move past conventional readings of terrain as passive support, and instead treat ground as something animate: a carrier of histories, biodiversity, water cycles, human ritual, and emerging futures.
Within this framework, the visual arts competition operates as a public-facing platform. It invites both trained designers and non-specialists to translate the theme into imagery, positioning the Biennale as a site of interdisciplinary exchange between architecture, landscape, ecology, and community narrative. The competition’s outputs feed directly into the Biennale exhibition around Suseongmot Lake, giving selected works a physical audience beyond the jury.
What Is Required
Participants submit a single original visual artwork responding to the theme “What does Living Ground mean to you?” The brief accepts a wide interpretive range — architectural sketches, landscape drawings, graphic compositions, illustrations, or other two-dimensional visual works. The medium is open, but the final deliverable must be a digital file meeting the technical specification below. Suggested thematic keywords published by the organiser include: Play, Non-Human, Ecologies, Biodiversity, Heritage, Underground, Public Space, Elevated Ground, Narrative Histories, Inhabitation, Resiliency, Remediation, Emerging Futures, Waterfronts, and Collaboration.
Submission Materials
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Work Type | Original visual artwork on the theme (sketch, graphic, illustration, or equivalent) |
| Format | A3 size |
| Resolution | 300 dpi or higher |
| File Type | JPG or PNG (digital file, or high-resolution scan of physical work) |
| Quantity | One entry per participant |
| Application Form | Official entry form provided by the organiser (attached to the announcement) |
| Submission Channel | Email to compe@makerpns.co.kr |
Important Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Competition period opens | July 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Friday, 11 September 2026 |
| Award ceremony (Biennale opening) | Tuesday, 27 October 2026 |
| Exhibition period | 27 October – 22 November 2026 |
Prizes
| Division | Award | Winners | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth (ages 10–18) | Grand Prize | 1 | Certificate + KRW 1,000,000 |
| Youth | Excellence Award | 2 | Certificate + KRW 500,000 |
| Youth | Merit Award | 5 | Certificate + KRW 250,000 |
| Youth | Honorable Mention | Multiple | Certificate |
| General (ages 19+) | Grand Prize | 1 | Certificate + KRW 1,000,000 |
| General | Excellence Award | 2 | Certificate + KRW 500,000 |
| General | Merit Award | 5 | Certificate + KRW 250,000 |
| General | Honorable Mention | Multiple | Certificate |
Award ceremony held at Sanghwa Garden, Suseongmot Lake (around 499-4 Dusan-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu) as part of the Biennale opening on 27 October 2026.
Jury
Individual jury members are not published in the official announcement. Not confirmed — check the official website.
Intellectual Property
The official announcement notes that selected works will be exhibited as part of the 2026 Suseong International Biennale, and that works deemed unsuitable for exhibition may not be shown. Detailed terms concerning copyright, reproduction rights, and post-competition use are not specified in the published brief. Not confirmed — check the official website.
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The Suseong competition is a rare hybrid: a curatorially serious biennale theme framed as an accessible open call, with a low technical barrier (one A3 image) and no stated entry fee. The “Living Ground” premise is intellectually current, aligning with wider debates on non-human ecologies, ground remediation, and post-industrial waterfront regeneration. The prize structure is modest but real, and the promise of physical exhibition at a public biennale gives selected works meaningful visibility beyond an online gallery. The main limitations are informational rather than structural: the brief does not publish jury names, evaluation criteria, or copyright terms, and the primary submission channel is a single email address. For students and emerging designers — particularly those working in illustration, landscape representation, or speculative drawing — this is a low-risk, high-visibility entry point into an international biennale context. This review has been prepared based on the official information available at the time of publication.
Final Thoughts
The 2026 Suseong International Visual Arts Competition for Architecture and Landscape closes on 11 September 2026 with a single A3 digital submission emailed to compe@makerpns.co.kr. Total prizes reach KRW 10,000,000 across youth and general divisions, and selected works enter the 2026 Suseong International Biennale exhibition (27 October – 22 November 2026). Full brief and application form: www.sscf.or.kr.
Submission Deadline
Brought to you by the ArchUp Editorial Team
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