Through its Bureau du design, the Ville de Montréal, a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, invites young professionals from all design disciplines to submit applications by 5 p.m. on September 19, 2014, for the 7th annual Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant, a prestigious distinction that aims to acknowledge and enhance the reputation of talented up-and-coming designers.

The $10,000 grant, created in honour of Phyllis Lambert, Founding Director Emeritus of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), is awarded each year to a designer or design collective with fewer than 10 years’ practice and having demonstrated exceptional-quality work.

“The Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant has allowed Montréal’s young creators to showcase their talent and creativity both here at home and around the world,” said Manon Gauthier, Ville de Montréal Executive Committee member responsible for Culture, Heritage, Design, Space for Life and the Status of Women. “I invite Montréal’s young designers and architects to enter the competition leading to this prestigious grant, which is a fine stamp of credibility on any young career and pays tribute to a Great Montrealer who has always been a passionate defender of architectural and design excellence.”

The grant will allow the winner(s) to conduct a professional development project on a design theme related to the city, such as a study trip, work internship, entry in a competition design workshop or symposium, in one of the cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, of which Montréal is a member as a City of Design. The recipient(s) will be announced in October 2014.

Phyllis Lambert spoke of her great pride in lending her name to the grant, which values and highlights the crucial role of young architects and designers: "I am very grateful to the City of Montréal for having created this prize. I am full of admiration for the professional development of all the winners; their creativity has led them to explore new cultural and inspirational horizons, and their thoughtful projects make them worthy ambassadors of Montréal, UNESCO City of Design. I hope that this grant continues to support and inspire the younger generation of designers and architects: their reflection on today's world is of inestimable value to our society, and their work promises to enrich our everyday landscape from aesthetic, social, and human perspectives."

Submissions by this year’s applicants will be assessed by a jury comprising Giovanna Borasi, Chief Curator, Canadian Centre for Architecture; Diane Charbonneau, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts, Montréal Museum of Fine Arts; Georges Labrecque, Project Manager, Centre de design de l’UQAM; Maxime-Alexis Frappier, Architect and Partner, ACDF; and Stéphane Ricci, Assistant to the Director and Coordinator, Quartier des spectacles, Ville de Montréal.

A springboard to career development

Past recipients of the grant have seen their careers significantly boosted at home and abroad, and have become ambassadors of made-in-Montréal design. The list of award-winning designers includes the artists’ cooperative Audiotopie (2013), Eugénie Manseau and Philippe Carreau of Studio Dikini (2012), Guillaume Sasseville of SSSVLL (2011), Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos of Daily tous les jours (2010), Ying Gao, professor and fashion designer (2009), and Philippe Lamarre, co-founder of multidisciplinary design studio Toxa and publisher of Urbania magazine (2008).

To learn more about the Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant, visit mtlunescodesign.com.

About the Bureau du design

The mission of the Ville de Montréal’s Bureau du design is to develop the market for, and promote the talents of, Montréal-based designers and architects by advocating processes that call for public commissions, such as design and architecture competitions. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network, of which Montréal is a member as a City of Design, comprises 41 cities in 23 countries and enables creative practitioners in member cities to share experiences, while promoting the international exchange of best practices and knowledge.

Sources:                      

Sabrina Williams, Press Attaché

Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee

Ville de Montréal

514 346-7598 

Stéphanie Jecrois, Design Commissioner

Bureau du design

Ville de Montréal

514 872-5388

Information :

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