Defining the ‘african’ in hyperessentialism | Sechaba Maape
14.01 -  28.01.2025

The new trophy for the Arquiteturas Film Festival took shape in January 2025 during the artistic residency of South African architect and artist Sechaba Maape at INSTITUTO.

Throughout the residency, Maape developed the concept and design for the festival’s new trophy, produced in collaboration with Artworks. Drawing inspiration from the work of Pancho Guedes and the layered identities of African architecture and design, the project emerged from a research process engaging with ideas of hyper-essentialism and the cultural narratives that shape contemporary architectural practice across the African continent.

A recorded conversation from the residency - available in full on INSTITUTO’s YouTube channel - captures the creative process and conceptual framework behind the trophy’s development.

On 25 January 2025, Maape presented his professional and artistic trajectory in a session introduced by Paulo Moreira. The trophies were publicly displayed in the showcase of the Tribuna at Batalha Centro de Cinema during the festival, and awarded to the winning films at the closing ceremony on 27 June 2025.