Member Article

LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENT PARKS ART FOR INSPIRING PARK(ING) DAY VICTORY

Online parking reservation leader, ParkCloud, and European parking operator, Q-Park, have crowned the winner of their PARK(ing) Day 2018 competition, following Friday’s head-to-head live finale.

Hosted in Q-Park’s First Street car park, the grand final marked the culmination of ParkCloud’s search to find the region’s best undiscovered student artist as part of international parking initiative – PARK(ing) Day.

Ten shortlisted students from Cheadle & Marple College, Parrs Wood Sixth Form and All Hallows’ R.C. High School battled it out over six hours to recreate their original artworks in the unique setting of a parking space.

Winner, Saskia Gentile, an art student from Cheadle & Marple College, impressed the expert judging panel with her colour tribute to the Manchester worker bee, which symbolised the creativity and individuality of Mancunians.

Judges, David French, Director of AWOL Studios, professional graffiti artist kELzO, Parking Review Editor, Mark Moran, Q-Park’s Tom Petch and ParkCloud’s Commercial Director, Valentina Moise all noted Saskia’s intricate colour work in their scoring - impressed with how she had applied blended colour to portray personal charity links and signify key elements of the city’s culture within the confines of a parking space.

Saskia’s grand prize – £500 contribution towards her further education – will enable her to progress with her passion for art and graphic design post-Sixth Form College.

Mark Pegler, Managing Director of ParkCloud, said: “ParkCloud has always been extremely proud to champion the PARK(ing) Day initiative, with this year’s project really going that extra mile to highlight the premise of creatively revamping urban parking areas.

“The work ethic and determination of all the students – especially against the backdrop of Manchester’s typical bad weather – was genuinely inspiring to see and regarded by all who attended. Congratulations to all who took part, especially our very deserving winner!”

The winning artwork will now be displayed in Q-Park’s car park for all drivers and visitors to see.

Originating from San Francisco in 2006, the drive behind PARK(ing) Day – which is celebrated annually on the third Friday of September - derives from the need for more open, creative space within urban areas; with ‘parklets’ now popping up in cities all over the world each year in a salute to creativity. 

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gemma Killackey .