Harrogate College Art and Design students have presented their 2012 ‘Christmas Lights’ sculpture designs to a panel of judges from the Harrogate at Christmas committee.
The Year 1 Extended Diploma in Art & Design students were given the live brief to design a Christmas sculpture to serve as a focal point for the town centre. This follows on from the success of previous years’ installations including a multi-coloured reindeer and contemporary mirrored snowflake.
The Harrogate at Christmas judging panel comprised Cllr John Fox, the chairman of Harrogate at Christmas, Brian Dunsby, chief executive of Harrogate Chamber of Commerce, Rob Molloy, the owner of Tetley’s Electrical Contractors and Liz Stickney from Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District. Local artist and sculptor Ben Greenwood was unable to be at the judging on the day, but cast his vote in absentia.
The five shortlisted designs under consideration were a giant candy cane, a world globe with dove, an angel, a mistletoe arch and some candles in the snow.
The judges carefully considered each entry, looking at technical aspects, manufacturing processes, logistics, cost and the overall message behind each entry.
Two joint winners were selected which were The Globe and the Dove (Peaceful Tidings) incorporating a dove flying above the world as a messenger of peace and the Mistletoe (Christmas Romance) which incorporates an arch with a giant sprig of mistletoe on the top acting as a meeting point for the local community.
The joint winners installations will be erected in Harrogate town centre in November ready for shoppers and visitors to enjoy over the festive period.
Harrogate at Christmas Chairman – Cllr John Fox said:
Harrogate at Christmas Group are extremely pleased that Harrogate College are able to support their work again this year. We are particularly pleased that for the fourth year running Harrogate College students from Extended Diploma in Art & Design have had a competition to design a piece of civic sculpture for display in the centre of Harrogate at Christmas. The standard of the designs is always extremely high and this year we were delighted to choose two designs which will be constructed by the students in September.
Student Emily Pinner said:
It’s was difficult thinking about Christmas and how to represent it, but we were pleased with our design. It’s exciting to know that it will be made and in the middle of Harrogate.
Tutor Barbara Ebrahim said:
Once again, it is a wonderful opportunity for our students to respond to a live brief. Having to consider the needs of the client, and present their ideas gives them a real flavour of life beyond college.
