Healthcare and Bioscience iNet Art Competition Award Winners 2010

25th March 2010

Three fine art students studying in the East Midlands have won awards in the 2010 Healthcare and Bioscience iNet Art competition. Chosen from seven finalists, they are Martin Bonney, Martha Glazzard and Kathryn Holdsworth of Nottingham Trent University, whose artistic interpretation of scientific themes impressed the judges and sponsors 3M Health Care, Vectura Group plc and the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet. Each received a prize of £250 during the Awards reception held at BioCity Nottingham and attended by over 70 business, art and charity guests.

Martha Glazzard’s work, Autoclave, received the 3M Health Care award in the category ‘safeguarding health by preventing infection’. Her knitted design with interwoven circuit board, producing a colour-changing effect, expresses the sterilising properties of heat on bacteria-covered agar plates. Martha’s work will be on permanent display at the 3M Health Care offices in Loughborough.

The Vectura award in the ‘Innovation in Healthcare and Bioscience’ category went to Martin Bonney for The Modern Goddess Gown, a silk velvet dress richly embroidered and crystal-encrusted to symbolise the professionally-tailored woman diagnosed with cancer. His work was displayed on a wire frame for guests to appreciate the full impact of the piece.

‘Pockets of Protection’ secured Kathryn Holdsworth the iNet award in the ‘Innovation in Healthcare and Bioscience’ category. A series of fine-gauge wire knitted pockets are filled with clear glass shot-through by red pigmentation to symbolise spreading infection, and its containment, by the healing properties of the bandage.

The finalists also included students from Loughborough University School of Art and design with works exploring the bioscience of learning, the power of the microscope and a hand hygiene campaign. Making up the finalists was a piece based on the epidermis submitted by a Nottingham Trent University student in textile design and innovation.

Emma Jenkins, Marketing Manager, Infection Prevention Division, who judged the awards on behalf of lead-sponsor 3M Health Care said: “It was fascinating to see the different creative interpretations of scientific concepts put forward by the finalists, and it made for some difficult judging decisions. The pieces of artwork are technically and visually stunning, and we are delighted that we will be able to showcase one of them in our company headquarters in Loughborough.”

This is the second year that Vectura Group plc has sponsored the awards. Sandy Munro, Director of Respiratory Development said: “Once again, it has been a great pleasure to be involved in this competition. I think a great many people get into science because they see it as both creative and practical; although there may not be an obvious connection, many scientists have a great affinity for the creative arts. To me this competition is a fantastic embodiment of both art and science. This year, I was particularly impressed with the entry from Martin Bonney. “The Modern Goddess Gown” demonstrates beautifully to me that we need to extend the boundaries of what constitutes art beyond what we traditionally hang on a wall. In this case, a unique gown with all its intricate embroidery is just as much a work of art. Combined with the wearer, it has movement and drama and creates a powerful and memorable image”.

The Healthcare and Bioscience iNet is funded by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to stimulate business innovation through an advisory, training and events service. Bringing art and science together in this way is one means of stimulating creativity to generate new business ideas and concepts.

Commenting on this year’s competition and award winners Dr Ian Barr, Director of the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet said: “Art and science have grown apart in modern society because of the demands of specialisation. Drawing these two disciplines closer together will stimulate the flow of new and creative ideas on which all innovation is based”.
The finalists’ artwork will be exhibited at BioCity Nottingham, the UK’s largest bioscience innovation and incubation centre, and may be viewed by appointment.

ENDS

Media contact:
Louise Third on 0115 912 4350 / 07773 288342 or louise@integracommunications.co.uk
Contact for copies of the Award brochure and an explanation of each artwork.

Photos:

Photos from the Awards are available. Please call Louise Third for details.

Notes to Editors:

About the East Midlands Healthcare and Bioscience iNet

The Healthcare and Bioscience innovation Network (iNet) brings together partnerships of businesses, universities, the public sector and innovative individuals to stimulate the successful exploitation of new ideas in the East Midlands. It provides a sector-specific focus and helps organisations exchange knowledge and form collaborations. The Healthcare and Bioscience iNet has a small team of innovation support advisers whose role is to help businesses identify and overcome challenges on the journey from concept to commercialisation.

Based at the iHub in BioCity in Nottingham, a leading life science industry centre of excellence, the Healthcare and Bioscience iNet is one of four iNets developed by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the East Midlands Innovation and the regional Science, Innovation and Industry Council.
www.eminnovation.org.uk

About 3M Health Care
3M – practical and ingenious solutions that help our customers succeed
3M is a $23 billion diversified technology company which, since 1902, has been creating innovative products that help make the world healthier, safer and more productive. Well known 3M brands include Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, Thinsulate and Scotch-Brite.

3M employs some 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 60 countries. It produces thousands of innovative products for customers in dozens of diverse markets and its 45 technology platforms touch nearly every aspect of modern life - the company has applied its expertise in RFID technology to deliver biometric passports; it is using its understanding of the healthcare industry to provide hospitals with infection prevention and detection solutions; and in 2008 it launched the MPro range of pocket projectors.

The UK and Ireland is home to one of the largest 3M subsidiaries outside the USA, employing more than 3,500 people across 17 locations, including 12 manufacturing sites.
Products manufactured in the UK include coated abrasives, occupational health and environmental safety equipment, adhesive tapes, industrial microbiology products, drug delivery systems, high-performance coatings, secure documents and passport scanners.
www.3Mhealthcare.co.uk

About Vectura
Vectura Group plc is a product-focused group that develops inhaled therapies principally for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Vectura’s main products target diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); a growing market that is currently estimated to be worth $20 billion. Vectura also develops products for other lung pathologies and non-respiratory diseases.
www.vectura.com

About emda
East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development. Ten years on, independent evaluation shows emda has:
• Had a significant impact on the region’s economy
• Generated economic benefits that substantially outweigh its overall costs
• Put back over £9 of economic output (or GVA) into the regional economy for every £1 it spends
• Produced more than £1 billion in economic benefits per year
• A wider impact on people, places and businesses in the East Midlands that cannot be captured by figures alone.

emda is committed to supporting the region through the current downturn and has put in place a range of measures to provide real help during these challenging times.
Over the long term, emda’s aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) by working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations. The RES highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and sets out key priorities until 2020 to ensure the vision for ‘a flourishing region’ can be achieved. For more details visit www.emda.org.uk