Media Europe

Chevrolet hosts Design Night and celebrates young talent in London

2011-09-22

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• Industry luminaries share insights on tomorrow's design trends
• Young art talent honored in Young Creative Chevrolet European award ceremony
• Rising star Bluey Robinson performs
• Iconic Chevrolets exhibited including the European Premiere of the 50th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept
• Spotlight on Quinze & Milan's Orlando makeover

This evening, Chevrolet Europe has invited special guests from the worlds of design, the arts and media to a gala celebration in London landmark Battersea Power Station to honor the 2011 European winners of the Young Creative Chevrolet applied arts contest. Leading lights in design and creative industries give their perspective on emerging trends, followed by a party, with entertainment provided by young talent Bluey Robinson and popular artist DJ T.

Design pioneers to discuss emerging trends

In line with the theme of the evening, well-known innovators in the applied arts speak about the future of design. Chevrolet Europe welcomes leading lights in the fields of design and film, Neville Brody, Wayne Hemingway and Lucy Walker, presenting to the invitation-only audience.

Neville Brody is an internationally renowned designer, typographer, art director and brand strategist. From his early career as art director of The Face to his current roles – as Director of Research Studios, Chair of the D&AD Executive Board and Dean of the Department for Visual Communications at the Royal College of Art (London), among other distinctions – Brody has been a consistent and recognized voice in the design world. A book celebrating 20 years of FUSE, his experimental typography magazine, will be released later this year.

From creator of street fashion company Red or Dead to innovator in social housing, Wayne Hemingway is changing the way we think about urban design. Hemingway Design specializes in affordable and social housing, and has won awards for large-scale projects in cities across the UK. Hemingway is also known for his published works and creation of the celebrated Vintage festival. He is a Professor at the School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University.

Lucy Walker is a British Academy Award nominated documentary film maker who lives in L.A. She has been acclaimed for her work on films such as Devil's Playground (2002), Blindsight (2006), Waste Land (2010) and Countdown to Zero (2010).

European applied arts contest winners fêted

Stars of the evening also include the winners of this year's Young Creative Chevrolet contest. Chevrolet challenged applied arts students in 22 European countries to help celebrate its 100-year anniversary in 2011. A record number of 552 projects by 155 schools were entered in the disciplines of fashion, music, photography, video and visual arts. Chevrolet Europe initially created Young Creative Chevrolet in 2007 to support young talent and create a platform of exchange between up-and-coming creative leaders and one of the most iconic lifestyle brands in the world.

The European winners and finalists receive their awards personally from Chevrolet Europe President and Managing Director Wayne Brannon. They are also meeting the esteemed Young Creative Chevrolet European 2011 jury, composed of well-known names in the arts and entertainment industry.

Top music and DJ acts to entertain

Entertaining the crowd are two well-known acts: buzz-creating singer-songwriter Bluey Robinson and club culture name DJ T.

Bluey Robinson is one of the freshest rising music stars of today. Retaining a distinct British personality – but with echoes of Prince, Otis Redding, The Jackson 5, Cee-Lo Green and Bruno Mars – the 22 year-old is known for his singing and songwriting talent. Robinson made a name for himself with beatmaker Labrinth, and more recently by covering soul classics for passengers in the London, Paris and New York underground (subway) systems. His song "Showgirl", both the original and acoustic versions, has attracted considerable attention.

Thomas Koch a.k.a. DJ T. has been a vital part of electronic music and club culture for over 20 years. As an accomplished DJ, label owner, producer, club operator, publisher and journalist, DJ T. is currently focusing on his core work, with a highly-anticipated third LP "Pleasure Principle".

Iconic and eye-catching Chevrolets exhibited

In honor of Chevrolet's 100-year anniversary in 2011, models from key decades of the brand's history are on display, including a 1964 Corvette Stingray – regarded by many automotive historians as one of the best-looking cars ever designed.

Next to it, its futuristic re-interpretation, the 50th anniversary Corvette Stingray Concept, celebrates its first appearance in Europe. Chevrolet delivers a futuristic vision of technology and design with the 50th Anniversary Corvette Stingray Concept. The Concept was developed as an internal design challenge to combine classic Corvette cues with surprisingly high-tech features, modern materials, and a striking new appearance. The car is well-appointed with a clamshell hood, scissor-style doors, ergonomic seats, rear-view camera with night vision enhancement, and a high performance hybrid drive. Interactive touch controls allow the driver to customize the power and efficiency of his or her ride and share it with friends via the in-car camera system and advanced telemetrics. A version of the model also stars as "Sideswipe" in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon movies.

The ground-breaking electric car with extended-range capability, the Chevrolet Volt is also exhibited. It will go on sale in Europe in November 2011.

In addition, Belgian cult design label, Quinze & Milan, display examples of their work and a short film depicting the making of the installation, a one-off creative and technological re-interpretation of the Chevrolet Orlando. Utilizing signature QM Foam on select parts of the new 7-seater family vehicle, Quinze & Milan have created an intriguing contrast. This exclusive avant-garde installation appears at the Superbrands London Tent at the London Design Festival from September 22-25, 2011.

About Young Creative Chevrolet

Young Creative Chevrolet is an annual pan-European contest launched by Chevrolet Europe in 2007 and aimed at students of Applied Arts in various artistic disciplines (2012: Fashion, Photography, Video and Visual Arts). With this initiative, Chevrolet Europe provides an opportunity for students to apply their talent to a new creative project, interact with professionals in their respective fields and present their work to a broad audience including the lifestyle media. In each participating country, a panel of judges (specialists in their fields) award three prizes per discipline. All first-prize winners of the national awards automatically participate in the pan-European competition, in which an international jury selects the best three projects in each discipline. In addition to a monetary prize (1st place: €4,000, 2nd place €3,000, 3rd place: €2,000), the European winners are offered a unique behind-the-scenes work experience with professionals in their respective disciplines. The contest has steadily grown from 8 participating countries and 32 schools in 2007 to 22 countries and 155 schools in 2011. For more information on the YCC contest, please visit www.youngcreativechevrolet.eu or www.facebook.com/youngcreativechevrolet.

About Chevrolet

Chevrolet is General Motors' largest global brand with annual sales of about 4 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. It is the fourth biggest global car brand in terms of sales and also one of the fastest growing brands in the world. Chevrolet cars combine passion, bold design and practicality. They provide outstanding value for money. After re-launching the brand in Europe in 2005, Chevrolet more than doubled its sales to over 500,000 in 2008. In 2010, Chevrolet grew its market share in Europe to 2.5 percent, selling 477,194 cars. Chevrolet has a network of more than 2,700 dealers and service points in Europe. The Chevrolet line-up includes the Spark city car, the small Aveo, the compact four-door Cruze, the Captiva SUV and the legendary Corvette sports car. In 2011, Chevrolet is launching seven new cars: the all-new Orlando family van, the new Captiva SUV, the Corvette Grand Sport Coupé, the all-new five-door and four-door Aveo, the five-door Cruze, the Camaro coupé and convertible and the award-winning extended-range Volt electric car. Chevrolet's biggest markets in Europe are Russia, Italy, Germany, Spain, France and Turkey. Established in the U.S. by Swiss émigré Louis Chevrolet in 1911, the brand is celebrating its centenary in 2011. More information on Chevrolet can be found at www.chevroleteurope.com or media.chevroleteurope.com.