Awards 12

The 19th edition of the Henry van de Velde Awards and Labels is now upon us. We introduced these prizes in 1994 because at the time there were no Belgian or Flemish awards with which to recognise professionals from design and other fields.

Along with a cash prize, we attached several symbols of success to the Henry van de Velde Awards, such as a silver trophy and a calligraphic certificate. We wanted them to emphasise the awards’ prestige. Each of the trophies is used for five years. The first one was designed by Siegfried De Buck, whose works became icons of Belgian silversmithing. He designed a walking stick in silver and precious wood. The next trophy, designed by Nedda El-Asmar, consisted of five silver beakers that nest inside each other. The third one was designed by David Huycke. He created a spherical calyx. Helena Schepens, one of our youngest precious metal smiths, is now the fourth talented designer to create and produce the trophy for us. It is a vase constructed from silver slats linked together.

The certificate had to be calligraphic to illustrate, as does the trophy, the importance of the craft aspect. The first calligrapher was Bert Binneweg, the second was Brody Neuenschwander, the Texan from Bruges. This year Brody is again doing the calligraphy for the certificates that the winners take home with them. The cash prizes for the Henry van de Velde Lifetime Achievement, Company and Young Talent awards are EUR 5,000. The winner of the Public award receives EUR 2,500.