2017 Land art competition
Call for projects organizer
Nka is an Igbo (African) word for artistry, its literary translation is “…of art”. It is also an Akan word that implies “may be” but in Akan, nká means “ancient”. We reckon the arts are the most ancient of human activities. Along these lines, Nka Foundation has a focus on human capital development through use of the arts, broadly defined to include visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, design, new media/film production, arts history, arts criticism, arts education, arts administration and curatorship, and emerging others.
Description
DEFINITION OF LAND ART“The creation of artistic forms, often on a large scale, using local natural materials such as earth,sand, or rock. Also called earth art.”
Nka Foundation invites submissions from creative practitioners and institutions dedicated to community placemaking to participate in its 2017 Land Art Competition. The competition is open to landscape architects, artists, curators, designers, architects, urban planners, engineers, university students and others from around the world to submit their ideas for large-scale and site-specific public art installations based on site in rural Ghana.
Project site
As noted, we plan to organize international workshops to build and install the Top 40 Entries to the 2017 Land Art Competition, as site-specific public art in Ghana. The physical location for the construction workshop and installation of your design entry will be the Abetenim Arts Village in Abetenim, a rural community near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The Abetenim Arts Village is developed by Nka Foundation in Ghana.
Throughout the year, Nka Foundation organizes international earth architecture workshops and artist workshops that welcome participants worldwide to immerse themselves and practice in the local Abetenim environment. In general, our workshops invite university students, graduates, working professionals, and retirees to immerse in the local lifestyle and learn-by-interaction with the people through engagements at the arts village, the local schools or other spaces for cross-fertilization of knowledge and skills. Students can use the opportunity for internship, thesis or personal research.
Our rural arts village projects thereby provide our international participants with time away from the everyday stresses of city/studio life to focus and investigate own practice, creating the possibility for discovery, collaboration and growth.
At the present, the Abetenim Arts Village has an openair theatre, workspaces and 9 guest houses for your accommodation. Most evenings will be used for reviewing workshop progress along with artist lectures, impromptu performances and presentations by workshop participants. By alternating work and dialogues, we anticipate cross fertilization of ideas.
Jury
Antonio MANFREDI
Curator, Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), Casoria, Naples, Italy
Antonio Manfredi is an artist and curator/director of Casoria Contemporary Art Museum (CAM Museum) at Naples and President of International Contemporary Art Center at Casoria in Italy. He has exhibited his works in more than 300 solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His monumental sculptures in marble, iron and wood are in collections in China, Egypt, Europe, Russia and US. In 2007 Manfredi was chosen by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs to realize a sculpture to commemorate the Italian-American victims of the Twin Towers in New York. As Art Director and curator, Manfredi has organized numerous international exhibition projects in cooperation with international public and private bodies by discovering and selecting artists from around the world for the permanent collection of CAM Museum. Manfredi has been the director of CAM Museum since 2004.
Curator, Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), Casoria, Naples, Italy
Antonio Manfredi is an artist and curator/director of Casoria Contemporary Art Museum (CAM Museum) at Naples and President of International Contemporary Art Center at Casoria in Italy. He has exhibited his works in more than 300 solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His monumental sculptures in marble, iron and wood are in collections in China, Egypt, Europe, Russia and US. In 2007 Manfredi was chosen by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs to realize a sculpture to commemorate the Italian-American victims of the Twin Towers in New York. As Art Director and curator, Manfredi has organized numerous international exhibition projects in cooperation with international public and private bodies by discovering and selecting artists from around the world for the permanent collection of CAM Museum. Manfredi has been the director of CAM Museum since 2004.
Ingrid LENZ
Writer in Munich, Germany
Ingrid Lenz studied Technical Writing at Hochschule Karlsruhe – University of Applied Sciences and finished in 2009. Since more than 7 years she works as chief editor in technical writing for different companies, but also as an independent editor. Besides that, she is interested in different cultures, and therefore travels a lot. She participated in the workshop in Abetenim, Ghana in 2015 and joined Raumgeschichten e.V. afterwards.
Writer in Munich, Germany
Ingrid Lenz studied Technical Writing at Hochschule Karlsruhe – University of Applied Sciences and finished in 2009. Since more than 7 years she works as chief editor in technical writing for different companies, but also as an independent editor. Besides that, she is interested in different cultures, and therefore travels a lot. She participated in the workshop in Abetenim, Ghana in 2015 and joined Raumgeschichten e.V. afterwards.
Robert van KATS
Architect and MD/Chairman with The Dutch Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa (DASUDA) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Robert van Kats is co-founder and architect partner of Blok Kats van Veen architects (BKVV). BKVV is established by Dieter Blok, Robert Kats and Sander van Veen. The head office is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The office acts on the business, governmental, NGO and private market both national and international with a specific focus on the African market specialised in sustainable architecture, urban planning, master planning, urban design, and building related energy concepts. The main speciality is SPATIAL ENERGY DESIGN. BKVV introduced the concept 'Spatial Energy Design' which became a design methodology for architecture to create buildings that are comfortable but with a extreme low energy demand and a high level of self sufficiency. A shared vision based on physics via the integration of engineering, economics, culture, climate and architecture for the production of contemporary and sustainable architecture. We transfer ideas into a concrete spatial design and bring this to realisation.
Architect and MD/Chairman with The Dutch Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa (DASUDA) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Robert van Kats is co-founder and architect partner of Blok Kats van Veen architects (BKVV). BKVV is established by Dieter Blok, Robert Kats and Sander van Veen. The head office is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The office acts on the business, governmental, NGO and private market both national and international with a specific focus on the African market specialised in sustainable architecture, urban planning, master planning, urban design, and building related energy concepts. The main speciality is SPATIAL ENERGY DESIGN. BKVV introduced the concept 'Spatial Energy Design' which became a design methodology for architecture to create buildings that are comfortable but with a extreme low energy demand and a high level of self sufficiency. A shared vision based on physics via the integration of engineering, economics, culture, climate and architecture for the production of contemporary and sustainable architecture. We transfer ideas into a concrete spatial design and bring this to realisation.
Sabine TASTEL
Architect and Urban Planner teaching international urbanism at KIT in Germany
Sabine Tastel studied Architecture and Urban Planning at Karlsruhe University / KIT and at Istanbul Technical University. During her studies, she focused on the urban and social revitalization of inner city districts whose boundaries lack identity and which show spatial isolation. In 2014, she received her diploma investigating the restructuring of the Magdolna Quarter, one of Budapest’s underprivileged districts. Before working at planquadrat – elfers geskes krämer in Frankfurt and teaching international urbanism at KIT she worked at bb22 architekten + stadtplaner and several offices in Karlsruhe and Berlin. She is founding member of Raumgeschichten e.V.
Architect and Urban Planner teaching international urbanism at KIT in Germany
Sabine Tastel studied Architecture and Urban Planning at Karlsruhe University / KIT and at Istanbul Technical University. During her studies, she focused on the urban and social revitalization of inner city districts whose boundaries lack identity and which show spatial isolation. In 2014, she received her diploma investigating the restructuring of the Magdolna Quarter, one of Budapest’s underprivileged districts. Before working at planquadrat – elfers geskes krämer in Frankfurt and teaching international urbanism at KIT she worked at bb22 architekten + stadtplaner and several offices in Karlsruhe and Berlin. She is founding member of Raumgeschichten e.V.
Rewards
1st award
$1 1522nd award
$8063rd award
$461Timeline
Europe/Paris
Registration starts
Registration ends
Submission starts
Submission ends
Jury starts
Jury ends
Results
Event starts
Building Workshops to Realize the Top 40 Design Entries
Event ends
Building Workshops to Realize the Top 40 Design Entries
No publication yet
Calls for projects that may be of interest to you
Architecture and Urban planning, Art, Design
2026 Tokyo Design Awards:
In its inaugural year, the Tokyo Design Awards welcomes participants from all backgrounds to help shape a new legacy in global design. From Architectural Design, Interior Design, and Product Design to the exciting new Character & Pop Design category, the awards spotlight work that inspires, connects, and drives innovation across disciplines.
$209 - $249 to register
2 remaining days
Publication + Certificate + Other
Art, Design
2026 NYX Game Awards :
Get ready to witness the greatest minds and projects of the international gaming industry that honors creativity, hard work, and value. The NYX Game Awards recognizes and celebrates the contributions of professionals who are passionate about the gaming world.
$250 - $310 to register
2 remaining days
Publication + Certificate + Other
Architecture and Urban planning, Design
2026 The Noble World Hotel Awards :
The 2026 Noble World Hotel Awards represents unparalleled excellence in the global hospitality industry, recognizing the world’s most outstanding hotels, prestigious leaders and designs in hospitality through the highest levels of achievement and distinction.
$450 - $750 to register
2 remaining days
Publication + Certificate + Other
Art, Design
2026 NYX Awards:
The NYX Awards is an international competition that recognizes outstanding work in marketing, design, advertising, and digital media. Honoring agencies, brands, and creative professionals, the award celebrates projects that demonstrate excellence in execution, audience engagement, and strategic impact.
$130 - $200 to register
2 remaining days
Publication + Certificate + Other