This post is brought to you by the Land Art Generator Initiative

The Land Art Generator Initiative and BUGA 23 are pleased to announce the launch of LAGI 2022. Submissions are due by September 4, 2022. The design competition is free to enter and has a top prize of $30,000 USD.  

The LAGI 2022 Mannheim design competition—Beautiful Forms of Energy—is an opportunity to weave renewable energy into the city in ways that improve human thriving. As a part of the 2023 German Bundesgartenschau (BUGA 23), the design challenge includes a number of themes and ideas for inspiration aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Just as a garden is a productive landscape for nourishment that also brings us joy and pleasure, how can we re-imagine our energy landscapes so that they bring joy and pleasure to our communities? How can renewable energy be integrated in beautiful ways into everyday life so that it is not some cold and utilitarian technology, but is instead an artful accessory that we all desire to have?

According to Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry, the founding co-directors of the Land Art Generator Initiative, “LAGI 2022 Mannheim offers the opportunity for creatives to tell a new and inspiring climate story—a narrative that moves beyond the doom and gloom of what will happen to our planet if we don’t act. Instead, we can paint a detailed picture of the wonderful, equitable, and thriving world we will create through our collective action. This story is about the incredible quality of life and the wonderful experiences of those who will live in a world beyond carbon. Desire is the motivation that will drive massive change and artists and designers hold the magic key to unlock that desire.”

LAGI 2022 Mannheim offers the opportunity for creatives to tell a new and inspiring climate story—a narrative that moves beyond the doom and gloom of what will happen to our planet if we don’t act. - Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry, Co-Directors of LAGI

Michael Schnellbach, Managing Director of BUGA 23: "LAGI is an extraordinary initiative that we are happy to give space to within the framework of the Federal Horticultural Show Mannheim 2023. The competition fits in well with our guiding themes of climate, energy, environment and food security, which are reflected in all areas of BUGA 23. In our experimental field we take a playful approach to these future topics. This approach is also what makes the LAGI competition so special." 

Results of the open-call international design competition will be on display at BUGA 23 from April – October 2023. A beautiful hardcover book with 70 of the best submissions will be published by Hirmer Publishing. 

For more about the Land Art Generator Initiative and details for how to participate click here. To learn more about BUGA 23 click here. Contact LAGI Founding Directors, Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry for more information at lagi@landartgenerator.org