BESPOKE TROPHY FOR ALBUM AWARDS REVEALED
The winning design by Stirling based creative duo Art Futuro. Image by Clair Irwin.
With the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Awards set to take place in Stirling on Thursday (20 October), the winners of a competition to create a bespoke set of trophies for the ceremony have been revealed.
Stirling based creative duo Phil and Franziska Hubur of ART FUTURO have been selected to create the prizes for this year’s ceremony.
Their design fuses natural slate veneer with technology to create bespoke trophies that are both sculptural and useful.
The main trophy doubles up as a a high-end Bluetooth speaker, with the runners up prizes also functioning as LED lamps.
Phil and Franziska said: “The products we design are all centred around slate veneer, an amazing natural material which we fell in love with. Every sheet of stone veneer is unique and beautiful.
“The vast diversity of music written and performed here in Scotland made us realise that there is a strong parallel to the diversity found in the natural stone materials we work with.
“Each piece is made of the same base material, but every piece is unique, with different colours, patterns, and shapes. Music is similar. All songs are created from notes, but skilled musicians can arrange these into something new and unique.
“For the Winner, we wanted to create an award that stands out and is directly linked to sound. The idea for a stylish Bluetooth speaker in our hallmark slate veneer was born. We were delighted to find that the SAY Award Selection Panel committee had chosen our proposal.
“For the other awards, we used a simplistic, Bauhaus style, cubic shape which does not distract from the beauty of the material. Each of the Cube prizes holds a hidden secret, they are in fact also lamps due to LED technology we embed within them.
“The slate veneer is cut exceedingly thin, so becomes semi translucent when lit, creating a joyful ‘glow’, which seemed fitting for the SAY Award.”
Back in August, local makers were invited to submit an expression of interest and outline their vision of how the awards could be imagined.
The submissions were reviewed by design curator Dr. Stacey Hunter from Local Heroes, Caroline Mathers, Director of The Stirling Smith Museum and Art Gallery, and The SAY Award Event Manager Hilary Goodfellow.
Submissions were required to demonstrate how they would embed sustainability as a key pillar of the design and production process, in keeping with SAY Award’s environmental ethos.
Hilary Goodfellow, Design Commission Producer & SAY Award Event Manager, said: “ART FUTURO’s practice combines traditional materials with technology to create outstandingly beautiful, unique objects, which are pieces of art in their own right, but also cleverly function in other ways.
“We’re delighted that they accepted our commission, and anticipate they’ll be approached to undertake many more creative collaborations when they take up their studio space in Stirling’s Cowane Centre.”
As a result of their SAY Design Commission selection, ART FUTURO have been given one year of free studio space by Stirling Council, allowing them to move elements of their production to The Cowane Centre; a creative hub in Stirling City Centre.
On Thursday 20 October, Stirling’s Albert Halls will host the prestigious SAY Award Ceremony. Last remaining tickets available here