Press release

Berg en Dal, 17 August 2010

Design competition: design a new urban Africa

The Afrika Museum in Berg en Dal and African Architecture Matters are calling upon architects, artists
and visionaries to design the African city of the future. 25 entries will be selected to be displayed in the
Blueprints of Paradise exhibition in the Afrika Museum in 2011.

The Blueprints of Paradise competition is open to designers with African roots and will focus on the
question ‘How will people build and live in the Africa of the future? Models, (parts of) buildings and
structures may be submitted, as well as posters, panels and electronic photographic and film material.
The project’s scale can vary from a detailed design of a building to a city plan.

Participation criteria

The competition is open to designers with an African background. This means that anyone from Africa
or the African Diaspora areas aged 18 years or above can enter. Designs can be submitted until 15
October 2010. The international jury will then select 25 entries to be displayed in the Afrika Museum
from April to October 2011.

Prizes

The 25 best entries will be displayed in the Afrika Museum in 2011. The jury will select 3 prize winners
from these 25 entrants and the winners will be invited to attend the opening of the exhibition, with all
expenses paid by the organisers, as well as receiving a cash prize. The winner of the public award will
also be invited to attend the opening ceremony.

Recommending committee and jury

A recommending committee has been put together for this project with at least the following members:

Prof. dr. ir. L.O. Fresco (University of Amsterdam)
Drs. O. Bouman (Director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute)
Prof. ir. W. Patijn (Dean at Delft University of Technology)
Mr. Th. C. de Graaf (Mayor of Nijmegen)
Drs. G.E.W. Prick (Mayor of Groesbeek)

The jury members are:

AbdouMaliq Simone (University of London)
Lesley Naa Norle Lokko (Westminster University)
Joe Osae–Addo (Chairman of Constructs LLC and Chairman of the Board of Stichting ArchiAfrika)
Femke van Zeijl (journalist and writer with a focus on Africa)
Manthia Diawara (Chairman of the Africana Studies Department at New York University)

For further information about the competition, terms & conditions and the procedure, please visit www.afrikamuseum.nl.

Afrika Museum, Postweg 6, Berg en Dal (near Nijmegen), The Netherlands

Opening hours

· Monday to Friday: 10am – 5pm
· 1 November – 1 April: Closed on Mondays.
· Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 11am – 5pm

Note for the editorial team: For further information and/or photos, please contact Maud Relouw in
the Communications department, on +31 (0)24 – 6847277, email: m.relouw@afrikamuseum.nl