OUTSIDER Magazine, on its 10th Anniversary,
Announces the European Architecture Award: OUTSIDER AWARD
Essay Theme: “To Be an Outsider”
(By Tadej Zupančič)
It was Michel de Montaigne, the man who invented the essay, who pithily observed: »It’s nothing but inconstancy.« He was writing about time but could have been writing about being an outsider too: yes, it can be difficult and uneasy to start with, but when you embrace its inconstancy, it’s (almost) like a superpower. Write about anything and everything; touch the stars; dissect happiness and melancholy; live in a self-built paradise; of faith and adhesiveness; navigate between cultures; be surprising and be true to yourself. Because, as Montaigne also pointed out: »We are born to seek out truth… the world is nothing but a school of learning.«
Essay Submission Guidelines
Write an essay on the theme “To Be an Outsider.”
- Length: Maximum 10,000 characters (including spaces).
- Language: English.
- Submissions: Each author may submit one essay. Essays will be anonymized for the jury.
- Format: Submit your essay in .doc format to [email protected].
- Deadline: February 14, 2025.
Selectors may also propose works of their choice for the award.
Awards
Selected essays will be:
- Published in the international edition of OUTSIDER Magazine (May 2025).
- Honorarium: Authors of published essays will receive a fee of 200 EUR.
- Winners will be invited to a two-week residency at ARCH LAB in Istria. The residency includes:
- Lectures by jury members and guest professors.
- Access to work studios.
- Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Tadej Zupančič is a writer, translator, and photographer who has lived in London since 1991. For the first 14 years, he worked as a radio producer at the BBC World Service. He began writing for Outsider seven years ago. His well-received book London Estates, a photographic exploration of social housing in the British capital, was published by FUEL in 2024.
