Following critical acclaim for its stunning production of Madam Butterfly, English National Opera has joined artist, painter and Royal Academy member Michael Craig-Martin and a host of other winners in being recognised at the Dulux Let’s Colour Awards.
Held at the Old Truman Brewery, east London and hosted by esteemed fashion commentator Hilary Alexander, the awards acknowledged the most bold, brilliant and innovative uses of colour across the creative industries and beyond.
The awards, now in their second year, were created by leading paint brand Dulux to reward the talent that push the boundaries to make a positive difference to our lives with their emotive and imaginative use of colour.
From the eight categories awarded last night, and following an extensive judging process by media and industry experts, English National Opera picked up the Best use of Colour in The Arts for Madam Butterfly. A production which saw a riot of colourful costumes, stunning sets and an unforgettable use of puppetry beat fellow nominees Transport for London for their 150th Anniversary for Art on the Underground and The Victoria & Albert Museum for its ‘David Bowie is’ exhibition.
Michael Craig-Martin, a truly influential artist, was awarded with this year’s Contribution to Colour. As the ultimate catalyst of creativity and innovation, Michael received a CBE for his services to art in 2001 and is well known for his use of intense and vivid colour that can currently be seen in two exhibitions across the country: sculpture at Chatsworth in Derbyshire and prints at the Alan Cristea Gallery in London.
Other winners of the evening included The Color Run which took home the ‘Colour Moment of the Year’ award, voted for the first time by the public. The Color Run, dubbed ‘the world’s happiest £5k run’, saw off other inspirationally colourful events such as London New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Edinburgh Military Tattoo as the ultimate shared celebration of colour from the past year.
Dulux brought on board a stellar judging panel of industry and media experts for the second year of the awards, tasked with nominating the shortlist and selecting the final winners. Their varied backgrounds reflected the diversity of the awards and included beauty blogger, Fleur de Force, Chloe Macintosh, Creative Director and Co-Founder of online interiors phenomenon, Made.com; Karen Haller, Applied Colour Psychologist; as well as members of the Dulux Colour & Design team.
Marianne Shillingford, Dulux Creative Director, says of this year’s event: “The Dulux Let’s Colour Awards certainly picked up where last year left off with some truly stunning winners being celebrated. This year, once again, we have been amazed at the inspirational talent from the worlds of fashion, beauty, interiors and beyond who delight us with their bold and beautiful creations and give us all the confidence to embrace colour and use it to make a difference to our lives. To spend an evening celebrating their achievements has been an honour.”
In a year which saw so many ‘once in a lifetime’ events and revolutionary new innovations launched, the awards also honoured legendary designer Alex Box, Roksanda Ilincic and Curiousa & Curiousa.
Michael Craig Martin and ENO Win Dulux Let’s Colour Awards
