Call it part of the new South Africa. As that subtropical nation continues to change its global reputation, Spier Holdings (a leisure and wine company) recently announced the end of the first stage of its Southbank Architectural Competition having received over 500 final submissions. The competition solicited architects, artists, and designers from around the world to design The Africa Centre--a multi-sited, multi-use space for artists, performers, intellectuals, and scholars from throughout Africa. The centre is to be located on virgin land near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape.
A team of architects, art historians, and engineers (oh, and of course the Spiers CEO Adrian Enthoven) will review the submissions and will announce a winner in January 2007. The submission process has been completely anonymous, so it is impossible to say how many designs were submitted by black architects or black-owned firms. Organizers can say, however, that 25% of the initial registrations came from Africa, representing 17 different African nations. Usual suspects the United States, Germany, and the UK also produced large numbers of entries.
Spier envisions an integrated space for residencies, exhibitions and other arts programming that will unite artists from across the continent. We like what the "new" South Africa is producing, and wouldn’t mind seeing a new rest-of-the-world, too.
