Art Prison: Call for Architects to Transform Favignana Fortress into Art Hub

Young Architect Competition (YAC) and the Municipality of Favignana have launched an international call for young architects to convert the 1,000-year-old Forte di Santa Caterina on Favignana, the largest of the Egadi Islands, into a contemporary art residence. The abandoned prison, overlooking the Mediterranean between western Sicily and the Maghreb, will become a cultural center featuring an atelier, an art-luxury hotel, and a high-level restaurant. The competition offers a €10,000 first prize out of a total €20,000 prize pool, with entries due by April 11, 2018, and results announced April 30. The jury includes Daniel Libeskind, Joao Luis Carrillo da Graça, Manuel Aires Mateus, and Felix Perasso of Snøhetta. The project aims to transform the island into an open-air contemporary art museum, inspired by the Kröller-Müller Museum and Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum. The fortress, originally a Saracen watchtower, later a Bourbon prison, was abandoned in the late 19th century after Italian unification. The initiative is supported by the Sicilian regional directorate of the Agenzia del Demanio, which owns the property.