IHG’s boutique brand Hotel Indigo and World Photography Organisation partner in national student programme to recognise next generation of UK-based photographers

2013-06-26 — /travelprnews.com/ — Hotel Indigo is InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) boutique brand. Taking its art credentials to a new audience Hotel Indigo has partnered with the renowned World Photography Organisation (WPO), which supports professional, amateur and student photography and lends a global platform for the photographic industry.

The partnership sees Hotel Indigo develop a nationwide student programme to recognise and reward the next generation of UK-based photographers.  Eight Hotel Indigo properties have been paired with local universities taking part in the WPO Student Focus programme to create unique photography projects inspired by the hotels’ surroundings; the results will be exhibited across the UK.

No two Hotel Indigo hotels are the same, with each drawing inspiration from its local neighbourhood to reflect the community, character and history of the surrounding area. Each hotel uses art, photography, architecture and design to tell the story of its neighbourhood.

This summer, art students at universities local to eight Hotel Indigo properties across the UK will be provided with the Neighbourhood Story of each hotel to explore. Selected students are briefed to shoot a project inspired by the hotel that reflects the property in the context of its local neighbourhood. The students work is in turn judged by a prestigious panel of WPO aficionados, including Anne Bourgeois-Vignon, the acclaimed Creative Content Director at NOWNESS and Tom Rowntree, Vice President Brand Management Upscale & Luxury Brands, Europe from IHG. The selected winner, announced on 26 November, will be rewarded with a paid commission to shoot the Neighbourhood Story for the newest Hotel Indigo to open in Europe in 2014.

The students’ photography will be exhibited in April 2014 in a central London location, followed by a tour of the UK in which they will be hosted in Hotel Indigo hotels across the UK for local residents and guests to view. The participating universities are: Reid Kerr College, Glasgow; Edinburgh College of Art; Manchester Metropolitan University; University of Leeds; Birmingham City University; University of Westminster, Middlesex University and London College of Communication.

In addition to the Hotel Indigo student programme, the partnership with WPO culminates in Hotel Indigo becoming the Official Hotel Partner of the World Photography Organisation.

Tom Rowntree Vice President Brand Management Upscale & Luxury Brands, Europe, IHG said: “The Hotel Indigo student focus programme in partnership with the World Photography Organisation is set to change the future of some of the UKs brightest talents. Hotel Indigo is an exceptional brand which takes at its core the surrounding neighbourhood and enlists it as inspiration for the hotel. From the art and design, restaurants and bars to service style, embracing and communicating the local community is at the heart of every hotel. The Hotel Indigo student focus programme seeks to cultivate young talent and provide a national platform from which aspiring professional photographers can showcase their work. There is no better hotel brand that champions grass roots art, than the Hotel Indigo brand.”

Scott Gray, Managing Director, WPO said: “Nurturing emerging photographic talent is at the heart of the World Photography Organisation.  We are therefore delighted to partner with IHG and Hotel Indigo who share our outlook and together offer this amazing opportunity to our student community.  The prize of being commissioned to shoot the newest Indigo hotel could well be the first step for the student winner to becoming a professional photographer and we look forward to seeing the resulting images.”

For further information or bookings, please visit www.hotelindigo.com.

 

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with nine hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 73 million members worldwide. The programme will be renamed and relaunched as IHG Rewards Club in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and more than 674,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.comfor more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visitwww.ihg.com/media,www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg orwww.youtube.com/ihgplc.

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