Creative Partnership Fuels Artistic Talent
27 April 2009
South Belfast woman Margaret M Madden has been announced as the winner of this year’s ‘Energy in Art’ competition, a unique partnership initiative between Phoenix Natural Gas and the University of Ulster.
Now in its third year the 2008/9 'Energy in Art' programme challenged a group of students from the University's School of Art and Design to compete for the opportunity to design and oversee the build of a real life art commission at the Belfast based gas company.
The winning piece was chosen by a panel of judges from different professional backgrounds who were each impressed by the sophisticated yet simplistic interpretation of the company's values that were expressed by the student in her proposal.
Margaret, currently studying on the BA Hons Fine and Applied Arts course, competed against some of the best final year students to win the prestigious commission and have her work on permanent display. Her winning piece is a large-scale Portland stone sculpture carved into a perfect circle. The piece is called the 'Circle of LIFE' and was designed to be a symbol of the good work Phoenix does through its award winning corporate social responsibility programme which is known as 'LIFE' and stands for: Leadership in the marketplace, Investing in our people, Fostering our community and Environmental responsibility.
The artwork was unveiled at a ceremony this week by Peter Dixon, Phoenix Group Chief Executive, who said:
"The theme Energy in Art is intended to fire the imagination and the winning piece reflects the importance which Phoenix places on social responsibility and the need for us to continue putting something extra back into the local communities that we serve".
Margaret said: "There is a clear visual empathy between the piece and the Phoenix building and I believe it has definitely added to the working environment here. Hopefully it will also prove to be a talking point for all the visitors the business has in the future and indeed be seen as a symbol of the good work Phoenix does throughout the community".
Organiser Tim Kerr from the University of Ulster said he hoped it had "proved to be an inspiration not just for Margaret, but to all the other students that were involved in the commission process".
Pic (l-r): Peter Dixon of Phoenix Natural Gas, Margaret M Madden and Tim Kerr from the University of Ulster.