African Design Magazine ADM #41 June 2018 | Page 7

PPC IMAGINARIUM
T
he latest
addition to the
prestigious
awards is the PPC
Imaginarium Zimbabwe
Awards which debuted
in Harare in May this
year, with plans to
expand it into other
countries where PPC
have a presence.
According to PPC Imaginarium Awards
Director Daniel van der Merwe: “The
standard and number of entries has vastly
improved and the level of sophistication
of conceptualisation has increased
incrementally. Artists and designers
are now fully aware of the value of
Imaginarium, viewing it as a sought after
platform to showcase their talents. The
Awards are inspirational and attract
ever more seriously minded emerging
designers and artists. PPC Imaginarium
has definitely contributed to the style and
quality of work of the entrants, and other
creatives also benchmark their own work
against the gallery. As we enter our fifth
year competition cycle we are going to do
retrospective exhibitions and interviews
with previous winners to discover to what
extent the platform has been a game
changer and launch pad for their careers.”
Van der Merwe adds that the architecture
category of the Awards has been
reformatted to replace the premier Des
Baker student competition, for final year
undergraduate design students, which ran
for 32 years. “PPC took over the format
of the competition with each university
requested to submit the best projects
done according to a set brief. These
projects were exhibited in May at the
architectureZA
conference
and the
winning and
commendation
entries were
both from
UCT.”
The brief
this year
dealt with how architecture can ‘heal’
urban spaces and communities and both
submissions made strong proposals
for District Six. The project brief for
2019 deals with design to counter
Xenophobia. Van der Merwe explains
that PPC Imaginarium presents a
number of workshops and disseminates
information on how one can use concrete
experimentally and creatively. “It is
clear from the incredibly sophisticated
aesthetics of the entries that entrants
are experimenting with the potential and
possibilities of using concrete creatively.
One has only to look at the concrete ‘Tiara
of the Heart and Head’, which was the
winner in the jewellery category.
In to Africa
The inaugural PPC Imaginarium Awards
in Zimbabwe exhibition opening was a
glittering gala event. Co-hosted by the
National Gallery of Zimbabwe, more than
300 esteemed invited guests witnessed
the announcement of winners and the
handing over of prize monies.
“Similar to entries in South Africa, the local
artists make strong social commentaries,
drawing attention through their work to
critical issues such as human rights, child
abuse and trafficking, poverty, xenophobia,
climate change and abuse of women.
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | JUNE 2018
7