PRESS RELEASE
Salisbury International Arts Festival and QinetiQ Scoops Three Arts & Business Awards
In recognition of their successful partnership on The Dragonfly sculpture, now erected at the Solstice Park exit of the A303 at Boscombe Down, Salisbury International Arts Festival and QinetiQreceived three Arts & Business South West Awards at a reception on Friday 5 October 2007 at the City Inn, Bristol.
The awards were open to all businesses in the South West region supporting arts events or organisations which have received funding from Arts & Business. Formal presentations were made to celebrate those partnerships that promote the development of mutually beneficial relationships between business and the arts across a number of categories.
The partnership between Salisbury International Arts Festival and QinetiQ won the Community Award, the Employees Award and the Champion of the Year Award which celebrates the most outstanding and beneficial business/arts partnership and is an honour bestowed on just one of the winners of the previous categories.
Working with partners from the local community, Salisbury International Arts Festival and QinetiQ created a landmark for Wiltshire which will be viewed by many holiday makers and motorists. The Dragonfly, a 6m high sculpture, was created from a Gazelle helicopter by 12 third year apprentices from QinetiQ at the MoD site at Boscombe Down, who worked with a local artist to create the sculpture as part of the Festival’s environmental focus. The Dragonfly project also brought together many of the 2000 QinetiQ and MoD personnel that work at the Boscombe Down site, the Salisbury Festival audience, the Salisbury district and Amesbury communities.
Speaking about the award, Jo Metcalf, Director for the Salisbury International Arts Festival commented: “Arts & Business offers great opportunities for arts organisations like ours, to get out there and be creative in the partnerships we seek. Working with QinetiQ has been a unique and tremendous experience and one which has opened many more doors in the business world to us. Winning these awards is a fitting tribute to all the hard work which has gone in to the project and we are very pleased to have been recognised in this way.”
Paul Whitelegg, QinetiQ’s Head of Site for Boscombe Down added: “Creativity in the workplace was the main objective for QinetiQ getting involved, providing the apprentices with opportunities to think and work in a different way and to encourage lateral thinking. Usually taught rigid air-craft maintenance procedures and Health & Safety protocol, through art, the apprentices were given the freedom to be creative and stretch their own abilities.”
Salisbury International Arts Festival and QinetiQ will now go through to the national final in October 2008.
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For more information contact:
Jane Thomas, Communications and Development Managerfor the Salisbury International Arts Festival jane@salisburyfestival.co.uk 01722 330914 07958 405409
Or
Douglas Millard in the QinetiQ Press Office on Tel: +44 (0) 1252 39 4611 / 3500
Email: DMillard@QinetiQ.com /
PressOffice @QinetiQ.com
The Salisbury International Arts Festival is supported by Friends Provident, Salisbury District Council and Arts Council England – South West.
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund the Living River project tells the story of the River Avon and how its special natural heritage has developed alongside the history of the area. Working with local communities from the headwaters of the river in Pewsey to the sea at Christchurch, the project aims to involve people who live and work in the River Avon catchment, through theatre, art, events and conservation activities. The Dragonfly project was one such activity, delivered by Salisbury International Arts Festival.
QinetiQ (pronounced as in 'kinetic energy') is a leading international defence and security technology business that was formed in July 2001 from the UK Government's Defence Evaluation & Research Agency (DERA). QinetiQ has approximately 13,500 employees, who deliver technology-based services and exploit QinetiQ's strengths in technology research by selling systems solutions, products and licences to government and commercial customers in a spectrum of defence, security and related commercial markets. In February 2006, QinetiQ Group plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange (main market) and joined the FTSE250 in June 2006. In the year to 31 March 2007, QinetiQ delivered a 17.4 per cent rise in underlying operating profit before tax to £106.0m on turnover which rose by 9.3 per cent to £1,149.5m.