Call for Patio Talento FLORA Córdoba Ciudad de las Ideas Proposals
Floral installation in FLORA competition. International Flower Festival 2022

FLORA International Flower Festival is an international competition of contemporary floral art that takes place in October in Cordoba.

The best floral artists in the world participate in FLORA with site-specific installations set up in some of the most important institutional patios in the city. Each year, these artists compete for one of FLORA’s cash prizes: first prize is worth 25,000 euros and second prize is 10,000 euros.

In the three previous editions, 27 artists from 13 countries took part in FLORA: Alfie Lin (China), Carly Rogers (UK), Flor Motion (Spain), Flores Cosmos (Mexico), herman de vries (The Netherlands), Hideyuki Niwa (Japan), In Water Flowers (UK), Inés Urquijo y Nuria Mora (Spain), Isabel Marías (Spain), Lisa Waud (USA), Lola Guerrera (Spain), Loose Leaf (Australia), Mark Colle (Belgium), Mary Lennox (Australia), Natalia Zhizhko (Russia), Patrick Nadeau (France), PHKA (Thailand) Sherlovell Yu (China), Shane Connolly (UK), Soledad Sevilla (Spain), TABLEAU (Denmark), Terabitia (Spain), Thierry Boutemy (France), Tom De Houwer (Belgium), Tomas de Bruyne (Belgium) and Waterlilly Pond (USA).

One of the goals of FLORA is to help contemporary floral art expand and to generate talent within this discipline. To this end we created in the 2021 edition, the Patio Talento FLORA call.

For the 2022 call FLORA counts with the participation of Córdoba Ciudad de las Ideas, creating the collaboration: Patio Talento FLORA Córdoba Ciudad de las Ideas, which aims to provide an opportunity for artists or groups that have not yet done any major floral installations to create an installation that will be presented at the competition along with the other four installations in the festival designed by some of the world’s leading international floral artists.

1. Procedure

Any individuals or groups that are interested in participating in this call for proposals should send their CV, a project description and other required information within the deadlines indicated in this document

When the application deadline has elapsed, a qualified panel of experts (henceforth, the “Talent Patio Panel”) composed by FLORA and Córdoba Ciudad de las Ideas members will assess the applications received. The Talent Patio Panel may ask the applicants for any other detailed information they may require.

During august, the Talent Patio Panel will announce the winning proposal, which shall, from then on, be subject to the same production procedures as the other installations competing in the festival. The floral installations will be presented to the public in October at FLORA 2022, vying for one of two festival prizes to be awarded by a top-rate panel: a 25,000-euro first prize and 10,000-euro second prize.

2. Documents to be submitted

Any natural person or legal entity (groups, associations, etc.) that is registered with the Social Security authorities may participate in this call for proposals. The winner or winners of this call for proposals must meet the necessary requirements for assembly of the proposed installation in terms of workplace health and safety according to the laws in force, and the festival organizers may demand any work certificates required to work on floral installations (occupational hazard prevention, work at heights if neccesary, etc.) prior to starting assembly work.

2.1 Candidate’s curriculum vitae and project dossier.

The CV must reflect the candidate’s professional career and include a selection of artistic work done (and floral work, if any), accompanied by images of the work.
This CV and selection of works will be the first thing to be sent by the participant who wishes to apply for Patio Talento FLORA Córdoba Ciudad de las Ideas. This should be sent to info@festivalflora.com. Once admitted, they will receive the technical documentation that will provide them with all the information necessary to present their project (characteristics and plan of the courtyard, etc.). More information on this documentation in point 2.2.3.

2.2 Project description.

The project description must be no longer than 20 pages and must contain the following:

2.2.1 Letter of motivation. Conceptualisation. Idea.

The theme of FLORA 2022 is “Metamorphosis”. The proposals must be based on this theme and must develop a concept around it. After a long period of paralysis imposed by an international crisis, and the impulse that came from recognising the strength that both human beings and nature possess to move forward, the time has come to reinvent ourselves, to practice new and better ways: the moment of metamorphosis. A metamorphosis that must necessarily be focused on care and respect for nature. 

More than a complicated future, what should concern us is what present we should inhabit, and for this a metamorphosis is necessary: Can we and/or do we want to continue being what we have been but transformed into something new? Is it possible to maintain our essence, but take a step further and become a little better? What new forms do we imagine for ourselves, for our environment, for the nature that sustains us? Metamorphosis is not just an exercise in imagination: it is the confidence that a world in which humans and nature coexist is still possible.

2.2.2 Material description.

The candidates must submit a description of the proposed materials to be used, bearing in mind that the Talent Patio Panel will assess the financial feasibility and sustainability of these materials. They will also consider the actual likelihood of being able to use those materials at the time of year at which the festival is held.

2.2.2.1 Structural description.

Floral installations are often based on a certain structure (chicken wire, iron, wood, plant materials, etc.). The candidates must draw up a description detailing the type of structure they will use and their approach to assembling that structure.

2.2.2.2 Description of flowers and plants used.

The candidates must prepare a description/list of the plants and flowers to be used, bearing in mind the festival dates (October) and the possibility of finding the proposed plants and flowers on the market, as well as the durability of those plants and flowers throughout the 6 days that the installation will remain in place, and taking into account that during the exhibition days the installation will be maintained on a daily basis.

2.2.3 Budget and work schedule.

The candidates must submit a detailed budget for the creation and assembly of the installation based on the technical documentation, which must be requested from the festival organizers (info@festivalflora.com). To receive this technical documentation, please send a request email to this address (info@festivalflora.com) along with the candidate’s curriculum vitae and project dossier specified in point 2.1.

In addition, the candidates must submit a work schedule based on the festival timing, detailed information on which shall be sent to the candidates, bearing in mind that installation assembly will take place over 4 days (from Monday, 17 October to Thursday, 20 October) and that the installation will be presented to the panel early in the day on 21 October.

3. Assessment of proposals

The Talent Patio Panel will take the following factors into account when assessing the proposals received:

1. Idea
2. Feasibility of execution
3. Budget (in accordance with the technical documentation provided by the festival. Low-budget or cost-overrun proposals will not be considered)
4. Sustainability of the proposal

The panel will pay close attention not only to how original and brilliant the idea is, but also to the actual possibilities of implementing it within the available budget and timing.

Other aspects will also be assessed, including:

-Durability of the installation: it must remain on display for six days.

-Proportion of flowers and plants used in relation to the chosen structure: the structure must be strong enough and cannot cost more than the budget amount allocated to plant materials.

4. Participation conditions

4.1 The candidates must contact the festival organizers by e-mail at info@festivalflora.com to request the technical details of the specific patio in Cordoba (Spain) where the project will be implemented, as well as any other details concerning production.

4.2 Each candidate can only submit one proposal.

4.3 The scope of participation for the 2022 call encompasses any country or citizen in the world.

4.4 The theme on which the proposals must be inspired is “Metamorphosis”, and based on this concept, each candidate must find their specific inspiration for their installation.

4.5 By participating in the Patio Talento FLORA Córdoba Ciudad de las Ideas call for proposals, the candidates fully accept all the conditions herein, without exception, and are therefore bound to strictly comply with all such conditions at all times.

5. Sending applications

Interested applicants must send an e-mail to info@festivalflora.com with the subject “Talent Patio Call for Proposals”. The festival organizers will send interested applicants all the technical information.

Installation proposals must be sent by e-mail to info@festivalflora.com by 29th July at 11:59 pm. Applications in hard copy format will not be accepted; only digital format is allowed. The winner will be announced over FLORA’s social media/website during August.

No correspondence shall take place with the recipients, nor shall any information about the progress of the award be furnished. Any and all announcements relating to the award shall be published on the www.festivalflora.com website and on the festival’s social media during august. Only the winner or winners shall be contacted by the organizers.

By participating in this call for proposals, the participants accept these terms and conditions, agreeing to conclude the contract and accept the copyright assignment conditions of the image of the winning installation. They shall also be bound to execute the installation during the festival dates in the city of Cordoba (Spain) once they submit their proposals to the competition.