Liverpool City Region Unveils Winning Design of New Borough of Culture Logo.
The winner of a competition to design the official logo for Liverpool City Region’s Borough of Culture initiative has been revealed as Leigh D’Arcy.
The competition to design a logo or image to represent the Borough of Culture was launched late last year, as an indication of the aspiration to widen participation as much as possible. With this aim the competition was open to anyone over the age of 18 living in the Liverpool City Region.
26 year old Leigh D’Arcy is a graphic designer from Wirral who entered the competition individually. Her winning submission, incorporating a map of the winning Borough means she will now receive a prize of £800 and her logo will go forward to be developed into the Borough of Culture official brand.
Leigh said, “It was lovely to get the call to say that my design has been chosen to be developed into the fully developed brand for the Borough of Culture award. I can’t wait to see it splashed across Wirral for the next year and to see how it will be used by each borough throughout their host year.”
Wirral holds 2019’s Borough of Culture title, which is awarded annually on a rotational basis to one of the six local authorities that make up the city region, as part of the Combined Authority’s 1% for Culture programme.
This means that Liverpool City Region currently uses the equivalent of 1% of its £30 million annual devolution funding on utilising many of the region’s existing assets and talent to stimulate cultural and creative opportunities.
The Combined Authority will now commission a creative agency to develop a full brand and guidelines for use of the logo via a competitive procurement process.
The competition was judged by Chair of the Liverpool City Region Cultural Partnership, Phil Redmond, along with a panel including Executive Editor of the Liverpool Echo, Alastair Machray, Professor Caroline Wilkinson Director of Liverpool School of Art & Design and Sculptor Emma Rodgers.
Sculptor Emma Rodgers who was one of the judges on the panel said:
“We received entries from teenagers to individuals in their mid-70s and the judges were impressed with the high standard of quality and thought put into all of the entries and of course with Leigh’s winning design. We hope the final brand will help us to inspire and make more people aware of the fantastic cultural and creative opportunities on offer across the Liverpool City Region.”
Wirral will host an extraordinary line-up of cultural and sporting events in 2019. Many exciting events and projects have already been unveiled, with more big announcements still to come. Throughout the year, expect to see major events in unexpected locations around the borough, based on the themes of discovery, exploration and the great outdoors.
Phil Davies Leader of Wirral Council, and Combined Authority Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Growth, Economic Development, Digital and Innovation said:
“We are thrilled to be Borough of Culture for 2019. Wirral is a fantastic place; we have a vibrant creative community and so much to offer every visitor. I know our incredible programme of events will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to come and see for themselves. I am also delighted the winner of the logo competition is based here, which is a fantastic start to what will be an unprecedented year of cultural and sporting events for our borough.”
Wirral’s first major event will be Animated Square in March, with more information about this event due to be announced soon. Other highlights revealed so far include: a spellbinding outdoor spectacle in conjunction with Absolutely Cultured and Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture 2019; an exhibition about Wirral’s contribution to maritime exploration; a summer of art in parks and urban spaces, and a series of events linked to the moon and stars, along with returning favourites the Mersey River Festival and River of Light.