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Exhibition
in Grand Central Station to challenge New Yorker's image
of British business
Top
designers to create £ 800-thousand centrepiece for UKinNY
festival
10th
November 2000
The
UK's leading exhibition designers, Casson Mann Ltd, have
been appointed by the Design Council to create a major new
exhibition for New York's famous Grand Central Station.
The exhibition will cost more than three-quarters of a million
pounds, with around one-third coming from private sector
sponsors. It will promote Britain as a dynamic and innovative
business partner, and a world leader across a range of creative
industries.
The
exhibition will form the centrepiece of next year's two-week
long UKinNY festival, which aims to raise the profile of
British products and services in one of the world's most
important markets. Once it has finished its two-week run
in New York, part of it will go on tour through North America
and the Far East.
Andrews
Summers, Chief Executive of the Design Council said:'This
is an exhibition for business, about business, to create
business. According to recent research, 68% of UK businesses
believe that the nation's image abroad has a major impact
on export success. And they're quite clear that they'd like
to see the UK developing an image which reflects the nation's
true strengths in design, innovation and creativity.That
is what this exhibition is all about. Changing the business
image of the UK - not with gloss and hype, but by telling
the startling truth'.
Casson
Mann - formed in 1984 by Dinah Casson and Roger Mann - specialises
in interior design and museum and exhibition design. The
company has just won the prestigious FX International Interior
Design Award for best exhibition design for its work in
the new Wellcome Wing of London's Science Museum. Other
clients have included the Tate Gallery, the V&A and the
Design Museum.
Commenting
on the news that his company is to create the new Design
Council exhibition for Grand Central Station, Roger Mann
said:'It would appear that the UK is still perceived
as very traditional, even after all the noise of "Cool Brittania".
We are delighted to be given the opportunity to put together
a brilliant team to change all that. If you can do it in
New York, you can do it anywhere!'
Casson
Mann will be working in partnership with three other specialist
companies on the New York exhibition. Restructure Ltd will
curate the exhibition content; the Kerr/Noble studio will
provide the graphic design team; The Richard Greenwood Partnership
will manage the project logistics.
The
UKinNY festival, which is being sponsored by British Airways,
will run from October 14 to October 28, 2001. As well as
the exhibition in Grand Central Station, it will include
special retail promotions, fashion shows and musical events.
Ends
Notes
to editors:
-
The Design Council is the UK's national authority on design,
and works with partners in business, education and government
to promote the best use of effective design.
- For
media inquiries, contact Steve Annett on 020 7420 5239
(mobile 0976 557880) or e-mail stevea@designcouncil.org.uk
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