Local Creatives Join Africa’s Hottest New Hotel Design Team.
The deadline has passed, entries are in and the winners have been chosen – drum roll, please. The overall winners of the #REDexperiment design competition, run by trendy hotel brand Radisson RED and Youngblood Africa Foundation, were announced last night at an awards ceremony in Cape Town. The three category winners of the #REDexperiment design contest – which aimed to give up-and-coming South African creatives a career launch pad – were each awarded 10 000 smackeroos and the opportunity to join Cape Town’s hottest hotel’s design team. Over 100 entries were received for the three categories, and following a rigorous judging process, Micah Donnoli, Riekus Raaths and Nkululeko Zulu – all from South Africa – were selected as the overall #REDexperiment winners. Micah Donnoli was named category winner for the creative beermat design, while Riekus Raaths and Nkululeko Zulu received the winning title with the innovative 250ml and 350ml takeaway coffee cup sleeve designs. These winning designs will be transformed into actual beermat and coffee cup sleeves to be used the OUIBar + KTCHN restaurant when the hotel launches in September 2017 – guaranteeing both local and international exposure for the winning creatives. Dale Simpson, Curator of Radisson RED Hotel V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, says that the team was truly blown away by the bold and energetic designs submitted by creatives from all over South Africa. “The RED brand is completely inspired by an expressive and creative world, and we were looking for just that in the winning designs.
“The entrants developed something really special, and they all delivered incredibly creative entries. We succeeded in providing a platform for local design talent and will now take this platform and showcase it in the hotel. I feel very proud that Radisson RED can have this type of positive impact on their careers.” Marie Vogts, spokesperson for Youngblood Africa, adds that it was so interesting to see each creative’s unique interpretation of the design brief. “We are, once again, so proud to see the talent on offer in South Africa. Often, people are just looking for the right opportunity to showcase their talents and that is exactly what this competition allowed.” Radisson RED V&A Waterfront, Cape Town will be the first hotel of its kind to land on the African continent and as such, plans to do it the global RED way – with art, music and fashion at the forefront. One of the first initiatives to foster art in South Africa was the #REDexperiment, conceptualised to give local creatives a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn a passion into a career and join Cape Town’s hottest hotel design team. Youngblood Gallery will house all #REDexperiment finalist designs for the duration of June. In addition to the #REDexperiment designs, other exhibiting artists featured at the gallery during the month include Robyn Pretorius, Juanita Oosthuizen and David Griessel – who are all showcasing red-inspired artwork. Furthermore, all designs will be displayed at the hotel’s Grand Opening event later this year.
