This call for candidates invites architects, urban planners, designers, researchers, critics or artists to apply for the role of curator of the archiweek 2024.
The archiweek, organised every year in the Brussels Capital Region by urban.brussels, aims to raise awareness and introduce the public to contemporary architecture of outstanding quality. During this special week, which is to take place from 5 until 13 October 2024 (dates to be confirmed), everyone will be able to attend, free of charge, guided tours, open days at architecture studios, symposia, workshops, conferences and exhibitions. The highlight of the archiweek will be the multilingual (FR, NL, EN) tours of about twenty contemporary works, which will take place this year in the weekend of 12 and 13 October (dates to be confirmed).
The appointed curator will be free to choose between 15 and 20 contemporary works to be shown to the general public, deemed interesting in terms of the chosen theme, the point of view or the criteria of the curator, as long as these are intellectually accessible and comprehensible to the greatest number of people and fit in with Urban’s 2024 theme of “materiality”. It is expected that the proposed initiative will address and unify the general and specialist public.
The curator’s selection may include any architectural project in the broadest sense: buildings (offices, houses, shops, etc.), renovations, interior design, public spaces, landscaped areas, parks and gardens, provided that they are less than fifteen years old. In exceptional cases, a project may be older than this, provided that it sets an example or is, in the eyes of the curator, a model to be followed.
These projects do not have to be fully completed (a building site visit is possible), but the progress of the works should enable the public to easily understand/visualise the project. As a result, projects with no concrete implementation will not be accepted.
A specific and complementary proposal will be expected for the presentation of outdoor areas (public spaces, parks and gardens, landscaped areas) to the general public, as these areas have had little success in terms of visitor numbers during previous editions, in contrast to indoor areas that are usually not accessible, although the presented projects were interesting. This could involve a complementary activity organised on site to “activate” the location, or the possibility of combining the visit with a nearby indoor tour, etc.
The curator will also be invited to take part in the event programme organised during the same week or following the archiweek, in connection with their selection of Brussels architecture.
An appointment committee, including the general director of Urban (or a representative of the general director), State Secretary responsible for Urban Planning and Heritage (or a representative of the state secretary) and representatives of Urban, will appoint the curator and motivate their choice, taking into account the following criteria:
- the intellectual quality and coherence of the proposal;
- the innovative aspect and topicality of the discourse;
- the project’s communicative power towards the general public.
Applications are due by noon on March 25th 2024 at the latest.
- Specifications (fr)
- Specifications (nl)
- Tender form (fr)
- Tender form (nl)
- More information about the theme “materiality 2024”
For more information, please contact Urban's Knowledge and Communications Directorate at archiweek@urban.brussels.
