News
Thursday 18 October 2007
Graduates shine in first creative business awards
Nottingham’s first ever Creative Business Awards – organised to celebrate and reward talented individuals and businesses across the city – has seen a host of Nottingham Trent University graduates take top prizes. Former students scooped the Visual Arts, Film and Television, Crafts, Writing and Interior Design categories at a prestigious awards ceremony in Nottingham’s Council House ballroom last night.
The competition, which saw a third of all its awards go to Nottingham Trent University graduates, was organised by the Nottingham Creative Network and Nottingham City Council.
The Visual Art prize was awarded to Moot Gallery, an artist-led gallery space set up in Sneinton in 2005 and run by Fine Art graduates Candice Jacobs, Tristan Hessing, Tom Godfrey and Matthew Jamieson. Moot travels extensively across the UK and Europe, raising awareness of both Nottingham and the artists living and working in the city. Moot is currently exhibiting alongside nine international galleries as part of Outpost Presents. Future plans include exhibiting at next month’s Zoo art fair at the Royal Academy.
The Film and Television award was presented to independent film director Simon Ellis and his Nottingham-based production company, Bub. Another Fine Art graduate, Simon has recently written, directed and edited his latest short film, Soft, for the UK Film Council and FilmFour’s Cinema Extreme Scheme. The film, which has already picked up 13 awards at film festivals worldwide, is about a father and son who are terrorised by a group of youths.
Textile Design graduate Debbie Bryan, who specialises in creating design-led craft-based pieces in the form of scarves, brooches and cufflinks, won the Crafts award. Debbie – who also completed a Masters in Fashion and Textiles at Nottingham Trent University, as well as passing through its business incubation unit, The Hive – is committed to a hand-made local ethos that ensures quality and unique character in every piece. Her future plans include creating a range of exclusive pieces for airline BMI, as well as collaboration with Nottingham Library and lace knitwear manufacturers, GH Hurt and Son Ltd.
The Writing category was awarded to Michael Pinchbeck, who graduated with an MA in Performance and Live Art earlier this year. Michael was nominated for his play The White Album, which used the structure of the 1968 Beatles album to explore events surrounding the making of the album, and the point at which the band began to fall apart. The play was described by The Guardian as ‘clever, ambitious and intriguing’, and by The Stage as ‘visually stunning’. After its premier at Nottingham Playhouse in March 2006, the play went on to the Santa Monica Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Philip Watts, who graduated from the university with a degree in Furniture and Product Design in 1992, won the Interior Design award. Philip Watts Design is a creative design and build company based in Arnold, which over the years has established a range of products, manufactured on the same site as the design studio. They design and manufacture pieces for private clients, bars and restaurants such as YO! Sushi in Nottingham. Many Nottingham residents will also be familiar with their cast bronze street furniture in the Arboretum.
The awards were created after an independent report on creative businesses in the East Midlands revealed that Nottingham hosted about half of all creative enterprises and jobs in the region’s main centres. The concentration and diversity of these creative businesses in Nottingham continues to grow along with the city’s national and international reputation.
The panel of judges was made up of some of the key figures in Nottingham’s cultural industries, including Martin Vicker, the Director of Lief Designs; Vanessa Harrison, the Managing Director of Harrison Associates; and Craig Chettle, the Managing Director of Confetti Studios.
The awards organiser, Paul Hough, said: “It’s fantastic to see those who studied at Nottingham Trent University, before staying on in Nottingham to set up in business, being rewarded. It proves that Nottingham really is a creative city to be recognised both nationally and internationally.”
Head of the College of Art and Design and Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University, Professor Simon Lewis, said: “The Nottingham School of Art and Design, established in 1848 and now a very important part of Nottingham Trent University, has always been an incubator for creativity and the imagination of aspiring artists and designers. It now attracts talented young people, not only from all over the UK, but also from all over the world, to the city of Nottingham.”
He added: “These outstanding successes are a tribute to, not only the students, but also the quality of the innovative education they received here in the city. Nottingham Trent University is immensely proud of these graduates who have shown such enterprise in a sector of the local and national economy which forefronts creativity and culture as generators for business success. We wish them continued success in their endeavours.”
Simon Green, Director of Sustainable Development at Nottingham City Council, said: “Nottingham City Council is proud to have been involved in the development of the first Nottingham Creative Business Awards. This is a city that has a wealth of creative talent which is clearly evident in the flourishing businesses present in the sector. By holding these awards Nottingham is laying down a clear marker for our commitment to growing this diverse, vibrant and exciting sector.”
ENDS
Notes for editors: For more on the Creative Business Awards click here.
Nottingham Creative Network is a project designed to provide smart-targeted professional and business support for Nottingham’s creative industries. It is a new part of the Nottingham Knowledge Network, which carries out similar activities across all industries.
The launch of the Creative Business Awards reflects Nottingham City Council’s commitment to promote and develop creative industries as a key sector of the city’s economy. The recent Creative Industries Growth Plan outlined the importance of this vision.
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