GLOBAL – D&AD, the global creative association for the advertising and design industries, will be pulling back the curtain on the judging of the D&AD Professional Awards and opening it to the public for the first time.
D&AD Judging Week 2015 will be held at The Old Truman Brewery in east London’s vibrant arts and media quarter on April 19-23. It will feature a full programme of events, talks and exhibitions, celebrating and showcasing the best in commercial creativity.
The climax will be a free-to-attend public exhibition of winning works on April 23. Spread across three vast floors, visitors will be able to wander through the very best creative works from packaging, products, graphic design, posters, typography, books, digital innovations and films from the past year.
For those interested in unlocking the secrets of D&AD Judging, the must-see will be Judging Week Insights. Fresh from selecting the 2015 Pencil winners, D&AD’s judges will be on hand for a day of panel discussions to talk about what they loved, what they loathed, and the work (and fellow judges) that caused the most heated debates. Judging Week Insights promises to offer unprecedented access into every jury, with tickets available for free in advance from the D&AD website.
For creative professionals looking to get the most out of Judging Week, also on offer will be an exclusive three-day masterclass called Judging Week Wisdom. With just 60 tickets available, Judging Week Wisdom brings together a conference-quality line-up of sought-after speakers and delivers it in a workshop format, offering an intimate learning experience within the unique setting of D&AD Judging.
“We’ve always taken great pride in our judging events. Each year, it’s Judging Week that is the true highlight of the D&AD calendar – both for ourselves and the creatives who join us from all over the world to judge the work.
“But most importantly, we’re making this celebration of creativity available to all. Anyone can come down and explore the work; anyone can come down and listen to an array of extremely talented people and hear what really goes on behind those jury doors. At its heart, D&AD is about sharing, collaboration and inspiration – and that’s exactly what we’re looking to do by creating this Judging Week event,” said Tim Lindsay, Chief Executive, D&AD.
Further events at Judging Week include behind-the-scenes Tours (available exclusively and free to Members) and public exhibitions of all the shortlisted work from the new D&AD Next Director and Next Photographer Awards, showcasing some of the best emerging industry talent.
D&AD’s long-running President’s Lecture series will also return, with three new talks from three remarkable creatives:
• April 20: Dougal Wilson
Dougal Wilson is a director famed equally for his commercials and his music videos. What started with his ‘The Long Wait’ in 2011 for John Lewis, arguably reached a cultural zenith with his ‘Monty the Penguin’ in 2014. Meanwhile artists as diverse as Coldplay, Goldfrapp, Dizzee Rascal and Jarvis Cocker have all come to Dougal for his unique vision, style and ability to stir emotion in an audience.
• April 21: Oliviero Toscani
Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani could never be accused of fearing controversy. As creative director of Benetton for over 20 years, his work has dealt with AIDS awareness, racism, war, religion, anorexia and capital punishment. Often at the cost of a little international diplomacy, his United Colours of Benetton campaigns have tackled the world’s biggest social and political issues.
• April 22: Neil Harbisson
Neil Harbisson is Catalan-raised, British-born contemporary artist and the UK’s first officially recognised cyborg. Neil was born completely colour-blind, but thanks to an antenna implanted in his skull, a world of grey-scale is turned into a symphony of colour, allowing him to listen – yes, listen – to faces, scenes and paintings.
Eric Kallman, Harriet Devoy, Kate Stanners and Rei Inamoto are among the leading creatives judging this year’s Awards.
