The British BRIT Awards 2017 open tonight featuring a special collaboration with Zaha Hadid, who conceived the prize statues for the winning artists and whose design project has been led by Maha Kutay – director at Zaha Hadid Design – and Niamh Byrne, on behalf of The BRIT Awards.
Zaha Hadid: BRIT Awards
In early 2016 Zaha Hadid collaborated with the BRIT Awards to design the winning statues that will be unveiled tonight: five female figures inspired by famous musicians.
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- 22 February 2017
- London
The collaboration started in early 2016 when BRIT’s Chairman Jason Iley reached out Zaha Hadid to create something modern and culturally relevant. “Zaha was truly excited to be doing this. Her vision was, being an architect, to focus our efforts more on the 3D element, as the statue had previously been used as a canvas for artists to paint on for the last few years. The design expresses her unwavering optimism for the future and a break from the norm. The biggest challenge was to create something new within certain guidelines, yet achieving a result recognisable to the public”, explains Maha Kutay speaking about the design.
A family of five statues make up the 2017 BRIT Awards statues. Kutay explains that the concept represents diversity, and the family is connected by a wave of transition: they are different yet connected. A huge music fan, Hadid had cited a range of artists including Drake, Bryan Ferry, The Beatles, Sam Smith and Adele amongst her favourites in an interview with Desert Island Discs shortly before she passed away.
BRIT Awards 2017
Design: Zaha Hadid Design, Maha Kutay, Niamh Byrne
Year: 2017