Latest news from Loughborough University
| 19 June 2006 | PR 06/72 |
Striking new art work for AstraZeneca
Loughborough’s medicines research company, AstraZeneca R&D Charnwood, has commissioned three striking new works by Fine Art students from Loughborough University’s School of Art and Design.
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Simon Proffitt, Site Manager at AstraZeneca with
foreground, (L-R Nicola Anthony, Chris Douglas and |
The pieces have been specifically chosen to create striking focal points for AstraZeneca’s new Biology Building, a very modern three-storey building with a large striking glass atrium. Scheduled for formal opening in September, the Biology building will be occupied by scientists, with a constant flow of visitors and academics from the UK and worldwide.
The work was selected by a competition organized by Loughborough University Enterprises Ltd on behalf of AstraZeneca, who volunteered employees from its art appreciation group to judge work in progress from a group of second and final year LUSAD students. After much discussion, the panel selected three very distinctive and thought provoking concepts that were presented to members of AstraZeneca at the recent Degree Show.
“All the work was of such a very high quality and the students responded so professionally to the brief,” says Simon Proffitt, Site General Manager, AstraZenecat. He continues, “As the pieces will be sited in public spaces, their openness to fresh interpretation is vital. We are delighted with the commissions and look forward to their official unveiling in September.
“LUSAD enjoys a long tradition of creating innovative commissions for companies of all sizes,” says Anna Seddon of Loughborough University Enterprises. She continues, “Such commissions give our students an invaluable opportunity to respond to a challenging brief and manage fixed budgets and timescales with outstanding artistic flair. The AstraZeneca commission winners are excellent examples of student innovation at its best.”
The competition winners are Nicola Anthony, Antonia Winsor, and Chris Douglas. Each student received a prize fund of £1,000 from AstraZeneca to realise their commissions.
AstraZeneca has been a long-standing supporter of LUSAD and has commissioned bespoke pieces and bought Degree Show work for over 20 years. Much of its collection is on permanent view on the Bakewell Road site and includes textiles, sculpture and fine art painting and printmaking.
ENDS
For further information contact:
- Anna Seddon, Marketing Manager, Loughborough University Enterprises
Ltd,
T: 01509 223445, E: A.J.Seddon@lboro.ac.uk - Hannah Baldwin, Head of PR, Loughborough University,
T: 01509 222239, E: H.E.Baldwin@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey ranked
Loughborough equal first among full-time students; and industry highlights
the University in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 40% of
Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for teaching. The
University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration
with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and
Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research
in optical engineering; for its world-leading role in sports research,
education and development; and for its outstanding work in evaluating
and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.
In 2006 Loughborough celebrates the 40th anniversary of its University
Charter, awarded on 19 April 1966 in recognition of the excellence achieved
by Loughborough College of Advanced Technology and its predecessor Colleges.
Loughborough University of Technology was renamed Loughborough University
in 1996.