Call for Ideas: The Wall

CODE (COmpetitions for DEsigners) and Con-fine Art have launched “The Wall,” a design competition aiming at a re-interpreting the concept of “wall.” The initiative, in cooperation with Regione Emilia Romagna, the Municipality of Bologna, and the University and the School of Fine Arts in Bologna has a cash prize of € 10,000, and the first-prize project will also be exhibited. The jury comprises renowned personalities of the design and art international scene, including among others Edoardo Tresoldi, Massimo Iosa Ghini, Franco Purini and TAMassociati.

Brief

From the Great Wall to Pink Floyd, the wall has been present throughout the history of humankind, acquiring a symbolic meaning broader than any other architectural element.

The wall is an element of division. It marks a boundary and defines a space. It is an expression of the human mind itself. The mind itself considers reality as divided into opposites, into abstract and intangible taxonomies, building imaginary walls between different descriptors of the known world. Hot and cold, black and white, good and bad; physical or abstract concepts separated by a psychological border that distinguishes one entity from the other.

The wall is a breaking element, an impassable limit, or a community perimeter. It has influenced painting, science, and literature, suggesting and encouraging cultural production of unequaled fascination and importance. Walls are a canvas for artists from Raphael to Bansky. Walls enhance movies and literature. Walls, again, marked and still mark extremely painful moments of international political strife (from Berlin to Mexico).

For these reasons, the wall will be the protagonist of “The Wall,” the next exhibition organized by Con-fine, a cutting-edge publishing house in the organization of high-cultural profile international exhibitions. Con-fine has already curated “Dalì Experience” and the current “Bologna Experience.” With 100,000 visitors, both exhibitions successfully inaugurated a new exhibition concept: an exhibition closer to the users, an exhibition that offers an immersive experience of the work of art.

A previous exhibition organized by Con-fine. Image Courtesy of CODE

Through the exhibition of works of art by artists like Gianbattista Alberti, Arnaldo Pomodoro, and Hitomi Sato, The Wall will delve into the role of the wall in history, analyzing the meanings, connotations, and the tangible and abstract aspects that created the imagination behind this fascinating architectural element.

With a constantly changing artistic perception, Con-fine invites all designers to envision a series of installations. They have to be imagined in the most significant places in Bologna in order to involve the city in the thinking about the wall which is promoted by the exhibition.

“The Wall” gives designers a unique opportunity. With their creative contribution, they can take part in one of the most engaging exhibitions of the contemporary cultural scene. They will boast a prestigious showcase to exhibit their work. With their ideas, they can also contribute to the international debate regarding the role and the meaning of one of the most inseparable protagonists in the history of humankind: the wall.