Medway launches inaugural Culture and Design Awards
Leading figures from Medway's cultural and regeneration scene came together on Friday, 25 January for the launch of the inaugural Medway Culture and Design Awards at Rochester's Visitor Information Centre. Local artists, musicians, performers, designers, architects and developers were among those invited to the event.
From the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games this year until the start of the London 2012 Games, the UK will hold a four-year cultural celebration. The Medway Culture and Design Awards are a key element of Medway’s cultural countdown.
The awards - organised by Medway Council's Arts Development and 2012 teams and its regeneration unit Medway Renaissance - celebrate the thriving cultural sector in the area and the importance of quality and diversity in building and landscape design.
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Cultural categories - including music, performing arts, fashion and new media - will give recognition across the arts, rewarding excellence in Medway’s cultural sector and promoting the development of local talented individuals and organisations. In the design section, which builds on the success of the Medway Design Awards 2006, the council wants to know which developments in Medway you think deserve recognition. |
Wendy Daws' Memory Blanket |
Developments nominated can be large or small, urban or rural, new buildings or restorations. They can involve commercial, community or residential developments, public space or a mixture of uses.
Finally, there is a special achievements section to celebrate distinction in any cultural or design field. These include best newcomer, outstanding achievement, lifetime contribution and Medway’s best-kept secret.
The launch of the awards coincided with the unveiling of Medway artist Wendy Daws' first solo exhibition at the Rochester Art Gallery, located within the centre in Rochester High Street.
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Wendy Daws' Memory Blanket |
After a welcoming speech about the awards by Medway Council's Strategic Development and Economic Growth portfolio holder, Cllr Jane Chitty, guests were invited to pick up nomination forms for the awards and to look around Wendy's exhibition of memory blankets. The exhibition, which ran until 24 March, featured a series of acrylic installations on the subject of memory and narrative, told through light and shadow. |
A continuous memory blanket was made from acrylic cut-outs of characters and clips from Wendy's personal photographs or illustrations. Each piece is linked by threads, illustrating how Wendy perceives a sense of interconnection between the people and events in her life.
The exhibition also featured smaller pods that focus on a single subject or story. The semi-circular shape of these pods embraces viewers, allowing shadows to fall upon them, drawing them into the story.
Wendy worked in the gallery throughout the run to create new work inspired by the residency and photographs taken of guests at the launch night form part of the memory blankets she created.
Visitors were able to join her every Thursday and Friday and most Saturdays from 11am to 4pm. For further information, please contact the Arts Development Team on 01634 338319 or email arts@medway.gov.uk.
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Wendy, who is based at the New Art Centre, Chatham, made a big impression in Medway last year, painting a large mural of shadows at Gillingham’s Strand Leisure Park and exhibiting her work at the London Design Festival as part of the Fuse Design Collective. |
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