The annual Cincinnati CANstruction competition kicks off Tuesday | Arts & Culture

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19)- The 14th annual CANstruction competition kicks off Tuesday, March 8, at the Cincinnati Arts Association’s Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts with satellite locations at the Contemporary Arts Center on 6th Street, Duke Energy building on East 4th Street downtown, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County downtown branch, and the Scripps Center on Walnut Street.

This unique two-week display, sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapters of the American Institute of Architects and the Society for Design Administration, features fantastic sculptural constructions built entirely of stacked arrangements of canned and non-perishable packaged foods. The annual design/build competition, which this year showcases the creativity and ingenuity of nine Cincinnati area design and architecture firms, fulfills a greater purpose of providing for the needy in the Cincinnati area. All canned and packaged food used to build the sculptures is donated to the Freestore Foodbank at the conclusion of the display. The food is then distributed to more than 500 member agencies in twenty counties in the Tri-state. Finalists will compete in the national CANstruction competition in May.

This year’s competition includes: BHDP Architecture & Messer Construction; Champlin Architecture; Cincinnati State; CR Architects & Quandel Group; FRCH/Design Worldwide; Hixson; PEDCO; Triversity Construction & GBBN Architects and Turner Construction.

Teams will begin constructing displays at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, March 8, after which they will have five hours to unpack and create their “sculptures.” Judging will take place on Friday, March 11, in selection for the national-level competition. Celebrity jurors include Rich Apuzzo, Chief Meteorologist, Skyeye Weather; Jean-Robert de Cavel, Chef-in-Residence, Midwest Culinary Institute; Owen Maass; Executive Chef, Cumin; Regina Russo, Director of Marketing and Communications, Cincinnati Art Museum; Joe Penno, Internal Events Manager, Contemporary Arts Center; Amy Scalia, Publisher, Cincy Chic Magazine; and John Young, President and CEO, Freestore Foodbank.

Awards will be presented in the following categories: Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity, and Jurors’ Favorite.

Winners will be announced by Doug Bolton, Publisher, Cincinnati Business Courier, during the reception and award ceremony at the Fifth Third Bank Theater in the Aronoff Center for the Arts on Friday, March 11, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. The public is invited to participate throughout the two-week display by bringing a non-perishable canned or packaged food item to any of the five display sites.

For more information on the participants and gala, contact Stephanie Kirschner at (513) 287-1828 or skirschner@cincinnaticanstruction.org.