Roses Design Awards 2009 - coming our way!

We heard a rumour, and now confirmation: the longest running, and most prestigious, design event outside of London is coming to Nottingham this year, after Nottingham City Council earned the right to host the Roses Design Awards.

After being held for over a decade ‘oop North’ (lad), in Manchester, it celebrates design excellence across all sections of the industry, attracting over 500 professionals each year, from architects to graphic designers.

Describe as the cultural capital of the East Midlands, Nottingham currently hosts around half of all the creative industries and jobs in the regions main centres.

Lorraine Baggs, Nottingham's investment manager, comments on the move: ''The move of the Roses Design Awards to Nottingham is extremely good news for the city and further demonstrates that when it comes to design and creativity Nottingham is firmly on the international map.
''Nottingham is a champion of quality design and creativity in urban planning and building communities, and the launch of its bid to become World Design Capital in 2012 is a key example of its commitment to this. Becoming the new home of the Roses Design Awards will position Nottingham well as a contender for World Design Capital status.
The Roses Design Awards aim to highlight to clients how buoyant the market is outside London, therefore attracting investment and positive interest in the regions and hosting city. They would give Nottingham City Council the opportunity to put the city on the map, championing creative excellence and encouraging social and economic development by sponsoring the prestigious awards in 2009.

Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council, Jane Todd, comments: ''Nottingham is extremely well equipped to play host to The Roses Design Awards as it has some of the best creative organisations and business opportunities in the country. It is bursting at the seams with a plethora of skilled and talented creative thinkers; from photographers, film makers, and performance artists, to writer, musicians, and graphic designers. Creative thought runs through the heart of the city, enriching history in the process.
''The move of the awards to Nottingham will, hopefully, act as a stimulus encouraging local companies to enter and compete on a national scale as well as being a step in the right direction in developing Nottingham's current and future design industry.''

Nottingham's aim is to become the regional capital for Urban Design and its new Design Guide, which will be launched at MIPIM later on this year, promotes high standards of sustainable urban design and architecture in Nottingham city centre.
Source: NEP.