Colman Getty Consulting - Blog en-gb On Wednesday night we went to the Turning the Season launch party at The Wapping Project in east London. Guests, who included actor Steven Berkoff and musician Bishi, played marbles on the astro-turfed boiler house floor, floated origami flowers on the roof-top lily pond and danced to music from Parisian band Prototypes. The exhibition explores of the social and cultural phenomenon of the British social season, and The Wapping Project - which is housed in a hydraulic power station - has beenhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=458Colman Getty has worked for the last year with Macmillan Children's Books on the publicity for Geri Halliwell's children's book series, Ugenia Lavender. Geri's final book-signing for 2009 was at Waterstone's in Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent. After reading an extract from the final book in the series, in which heroine Ugenia Lavender gets to meet her favourite star Hunk Roberts, Geri signed over 150 copies for waiting fans. She then switched-on the centre's Christmas lights in their Winter Wonderland. The campaign has been great fun - with signings all around the couhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=448We went along to a packed awards ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday. It was good to see Vanessa Winship, Sony World Photography Award winner, pick up a prize, as well as SWPA judge Tom Stoddart. BLOGGER: Truda Spruythttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=447 An eclectic panel got together to discuss this subject at the Halcyon Gallery on Monday. Coinciding with Spanish painter and enfant terrible Ibanez's Los Putrefactos exhibition at the gallery, the debate was refereed by the BBC's Razia Iqbal. Does Christianity have any relevance for contemporary art? Is the Anglican church cowardly in its commissioning of art? Does the transcendence offered by art replace religious fervour? Perhaps nohttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=446 Foyles, UK Bookseller of the Year 2008, opened today, Thursday 30 October 2008, at Westfield London. Bucks fizz greeted customers as they entered the latest outpost of London's most famous independent bookseller. Over 35,000 titles, from literary fiction and bestsellers to cookery, fashion and sport are displayed across two floors in 12,000 sq ft of retail space. Mayor of London Boris Johnson cut the ribbon ahttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=440"Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative" Oscar Wilde Intrigued by the concept of dining with a group of strangers and exercising my conversational skills, I was both excited and nervous to be invited to the first meal hosted by The School of Life at Konstam Restaurant on 23 October. Walking into the bar at Konstam, I started to grow anxious about what to expect, in particular, what I would be expected to talk about and how effectively I would interact with so many new peoplehttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=439Following weeks of tension and debate, Aravind Adiga and his book The White Tiger was announced as the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 on Tuesday 14 October at a glittering ceremony at London's Guildhall. Described by Michael Portillo, chair of the judges, as a and lsquo;book which knocked our socks off', Aravind Adiga was up agaihttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=436Over the past week CG has celebrated two special occasions in Cheltenham: the start of the 59th Times Cheltenham Literature Festival and the launch of a rather unusual new literature prize. The Wellcome Trust Book Prize, launched by CG and The Wellcome Trust on the second day of the festival, is the first ever award to celebrate medicine in literature. The winner will be awarded £25,000 in November 2009. http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=433 Photo credit: John Moores Winner Peter McDonald and his painting Fontana, credit Simon Webb CG's announcement of the winner of the 25th John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize helped to launch the 2008 Liverpool Biennial last Thursday. The winner of the UK's largest contemporarhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=426 Speakers (L-R) Ruth Eichhorn, Briony Mathieson, James Kennedy, Scott Gray, Stuart Franklin and Vanessa Winship attend the Sony World Photography Awards 2009 press launch The week began for CG this week in Cologne with the international press launch of the Sony World Photography Awards 2009. The venue was the Seippel Gallery where 97 images from thttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=425Tuesday saw the grand finale of Make Your Mark in Fashion, held at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden. It came in the form of a fabulous catwalk show and after-party that was sure to give any other event at London Fashion Week a run for its money! The proof of the pudding was in the fantastic turnout, and general great vibe. The three finalisthttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=422On Tuesday 9 September, the nervous wait for the 13 longlisted Man Booker Prize authors was finally over as Michael Portillo, chair of the judges announced the six shortlisted books to a packed press conference held at the Man Group office. Four of the Five Man Booker Judges 2008 (left to right) http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=417 The Managers and Booksellers of Foyles held a Summer Party in their flagship shop on Charing Cross Road on 3rd September for authors, publishers and friends of Foyles to celebrate the start of the publishing season. Guests who attended include: Sarah Waters, Jonathan Coe, Michael Palin, Kate Adie, David Starkey, Peter York and Roger McGough, and those from thttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=415This week saw the Times Cheltenham Literature Festival celebrate the launch of their 2008 programme at the Wellcome Collection in Euston. Guests gathered in the Medicine Now Gallery and were able to peruse unusual exhibits on the human body in between tasting wine and canap and eacute;s. Historian David Starkey http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=414Rumours are rife this week about who will be on the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 shortlist. The list, which will be officially announced on Tuesday 9 September by the chair of the judges Michael Portillo, will be picked from the 13 longlisted titles and has already caused great debate between readers. http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=409Thursday morning saw the final ceremony of the UK Catalyst Awards at the Imagination Gallery in London, and what a fantastic morning it was - despite the early start! The awards, which are the first of their kind, were launched last year by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to try and uncover inspiring stories about http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=398 Blogging is set to receive the recognition it deserves with the news that Stephen Mitchelmore, Britain's first book blogger, has been invited to judge a new £50, 000 literary prize - The Warwick Prize for Writing. The prize, run by the University of Warwick, is expected to redefine traditional forms of writing. It will be ghttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=396Colman Getty has been caught up in a literary whirlwind during the last two weeks, working with Southbank Centre to publicise London Literature Festival 2008. For lovers of books, writing and relaxation London Literature Festival was the ultimate summer destination, with the chance to meet top novelists like Rebecca Miller and the 2008 Caine Prize winner Henrietta Rose-Innes, hear poetry read by Wendy Cope, Lemn Sissay, Brian Patten and Patience Agbabi, or pick up one of the Best ofhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=382 Tuesday 10 June, 2008 - Thirteen original storycards written by world-class authors including J K Rowling, Sebastian Faulks, Doris Lessing and Nick Hornby were sold at the What's Your Story? charity auction at Waterstone's flagship store on Piccadilly . The auction raised a total of £47,150, with all proceeds going to the charities English PEN anhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=377Last week Colman Getty announced that The Lightbox gallery and museum, Woking, had won the UK and rsquo;s largest arts prize, The Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries. The winning gallery fought its way on to a ten-strong long list in February and reached the four-strong short list in April: The Lightbox beat off stiff competition from the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Bristol; Shetlandhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=373 There was a great turn out of film industry players and education professionals on Tuesday morning for the launch of the first UK-wide film education strategy, Film: 21st Century Literacy, at the BFI in London. Led by the British Film Institute (BFI), FILMCLUB, First Light Movies, Film Education, and the UK Film Council, and developed in partnership with the National and Regional Screen Agencies and Skillset, the strategy aims to bring greater coherence and consistency to the provision of film education in the UK so children and young people have ehttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=374Proud parents had hankies at the ready last week when 325 immaculately turned out students graduated from the Career Academies UK programme- a business education initiative for 16 - 19 year olds. Teenagers from around the UK gathered at Central Hall, Westminster to receive their certificates from Trustees of Career Academies UK, Sir Win Bischoff, Chairman of Citi, and Heather McGregor of Taylor:Bennett.http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=372Last month Colman Getty unveiled to the media St Martin-in-the-Fields, following the church and rsquo;s £36million decade-long Renewal. Much work has gone on in the iconic church on Trafalgar Square. Work inside the church means that the interiors are now much closer to Gibbs and rsquo; original Baroque design and the http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=371 Hot off the press is the brilliant news that Colman Getty has gone up from No 72 to No 70 in the PR Week Top 150 PR Consultancies charts, and from 33 to 26 in the Top 50 Independents. To move up even one place in these hotly contested listings is a challenge, so thesehttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=370Last week we headed to Park Lane to celebrate the publication of the multi-talented Lisa B and rsquo;s new book, Lifestyle Essentials, at the stylish Cookbook Caf and eacute; at the InterContinental. Over 200 guests joined us to congratulate Lisa and were treated to exclusive cocktails, freshly made crepes, a well stocked Champagne bar and an incredible centre spread of healthy and indulgent tastes. Add in ambient music from their resident saxophonist and what more could we ask for to get a party started?http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=369We were out and about early yesterday for the breakfast launch of a new report by the Cultural Leadership Programme, with guest speaker Margaret Hodge, Minister for Culture. Margaret Hodge MP, called for more women leadersMore than 70 leaders from the cultural and creative industries met in the spectacular settihttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=368 Who could believe it? Not I, certainly, but it seemed like a good idea to throw a party to celebrate it regardless. It was a brilliant evening. Really special. Lyndsey, Colman Getty and rsquo;s events supremo, had surpassed herself with the venue, the as yet unknown Gymnasium at St Pancras. Our guesthttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=367This unique and rather lovely literary prize, which alternates each year between a French and a British novelist, aims to celebrate the best in literary love stories. It pays homage to love stories which focus on the nature of love between people in any of its myriad forms - whether in friendships, families or couples. It is thehttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=366On Tuesday evening, Colman Getty and #39;s first collaboration with the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, the Jerwood Moving Image Awards, opened at the Jerwood Space. The team, both at CG and Jerwood, has been on a steep learning curve with technology, so it was really rewarding to see all the private view goers engaging with the exhibition! It was wonderful to meet the finalists, and some of the shortlisted artists, at last, and to find them happy with the design of the exhibition. Twohttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=365Last night Make Your Mark launched the latest strand of its campaign, Make Your Mark in the Music Business, at an event in the House of Commons. Young people keen to get ahead in the music business were given rare access to a panel of entrepreneurial music moguls and artists, including Feargal Sharkey, Sandi Thom and Mervyn Lynn.http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=364Do you know one? The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) published its bi-annual survey into graduate recruitment this week and the results revealed the birth of the and ldquo;graduate diva and rdquo;. The and ldquo;graduate diva and rdquo; is a product of Generation Y: born in the eighties, confident and ambitious, and with a high opinion of their value on the job market. However, many employers state thahttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=363It was most gratifying to open The Observer on the 30th Decemhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=362The Campaigns team is just back from Sotheby and rsquo;s where we could barely believe our eyes as we witnessed the sale of JK Rowling and rsquo;s The Tales of Beedle the Bard.The excitement and tension was mounting as the auction room became increasingly crowded in anticipation of the http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=361On Tuesday I was at the national finals of the Make Your Mark Challenge, the UK and rsquo;s largest ever simultaneous enterprise competition, held at the Cumberland Hotel in London. And what a day it was! http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=360Forget Facebook and move over MySpace - Colman Getty recently worked on the launch of MyChumsClub.com, the first social networking website for over 50s! The site is unique for various reasons, including the fact that it has no advertising (the site is run on member subscriptions only) and will be commissioninghttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=359 Excitement is building for the opening of the newly redeveloped London Transport Museum next week. We and #39;ve already had a star-studded launch party, Children in Need is broadcasting from the Museum tonight and tomorrow morning we have a family press preview day. We and #39;re expecting almost a hundred journalists to our main press preview day on Monday. The museum has become a second home to Iliana and Jenny, and we know more about the history of the transport system anhttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=357National Enterprise Week has come round again, and with it the fourth year of Enterprising Young Brits, a competition that rewards people aged 30 and under for having an idea and making it happen. This is the third year I have worked on the competition, and as ever, am struck by the inchttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=356Last Tuesday saw the most bizarre day at work I have had to date. On a mission to capture the perfect image for the launch of Make Your Mark in Fashion, Katie and I travelled to Todmorden, a quaint village set in the picturesque Pennines. It is the home of Beate Kubitz and Nicola Sherlock of and lsquo;Makepiece and rsquo;, one of the nine ethical fashion businesses that are supporting the competition. They use the wool from their own http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=355The authors of the nineteen books selected for their brand new Children and rsquo;s Book Club will hold seven events with children around the UK. Children attending will be able to ask the authors questions, hear readings from some of the brilliant books, and watch the illustrators create drawings of some of the characters. http://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=354 Last week began with a Cooler, Faster flavour at Kitts, the boutique club of choice in Chelsea. The launch of Peter York and amp; Olivia Stewart-Liberty and rsquo;s book was the hottest ticket of the night with 250 guests celebrating the Return of the Sloane Ranger. And who could turn down the uber-glamourous black and silver invitation sponsored, designed and printed by CK Press. Huge thanks to Duncan Stirling and amp; Charlie Gilkes, from Kitts, who offehttp://www.colmangetty.co.uk/newsblog/blog.php?id=353