All Things Urban

We believe that a city could be a work of art — a place that we can make and change with our own hands, a place where we don’t merely dwell. The French philosopher Henri Lefebvre once claimed the right to be part of the city as an “oeuvre”, i.e. the right to belong to, and to co-produce, urban spaces. This is the thing that we believe gives life to our everyday urban lives, and that creates personalities and stories in cities to make them worth living in.

For Cities Week 2021 is more than an exhibition — it is a festival that takes place in three Asian cities: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Taipei, with the possibility to expand even more into the rapidly changing urban landscape across Asia in the upcoming years. It includes exhibitions, workshops, events, performances, pop-up shops, meetups, lectures, and short term projects over the course of one week per location to connect members of the for Cities network and discover new talent to take collective action.

This is an opportunity where ideas that have been submitted to the for Cities platform will be presented to the general public, as well as for local urbanists to meet each other and find future collaborators. This open call provides emerging and under-recognized urbanists based in Asia with the necessary resources to present an exhibition in For Cities Week 2021.

The selected ideas will receive support from a for Cities team in preparation for the exhibition, including a studio visit, installation guidance, and other opportunities depending on the nature of the work.

REQUIREMENTS

• Visual presentations
  Independent work(s), project(s), or practice(s) that are related to architecture or urbanism and that are either ongoing or have been completed within the past 5 years that have presentable output, such as pictures, videos, products, books, etc.

• Workshops
  A participatory workshop, performance or installation

• Publications, or other types of product
  Books, magazines, and other products that concern the theme of the exhibition

• There are no limitations concerning age, religion, sexual preference, or background.
• Applicants don't necessarily have to hold a nationality of a Asian country. Anyone whose work concerns the continent of Asia or a larger scope are encouraged to apply.
• Both individuals and groups are accepted.
• There is no limit to the number of ideas an applicant can submit.

for Cities is an international collective of urban practitioners and thinkers working in Asian cities. We provide an urban "repository" — an online idea bank — where emerging practitioners in the field of urbanism (architects, urban planners, civil activists, policymakers, researchers, artists, journalists, and more) can showcase their practices and ideas. From our repository, people can find inspiration, useful tools, happenings related to architecture and urbanism, and even future collaborators for their local projects. We select the finest ideas from the platform and introduce them to established, high-profile companies as well as local goverments and other related institutions who are looking for new inspiration in their projects and new practitioners to help them achieve their goals. We also host an annual city festival & exhibition in multiple Asian cities to share, test, and learn from these ideas.