Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett — the duo behind Gorillaz and the Chinese folk tale-inspired opera project “Monkey: Journey to the West” — are giving students the opportunity to create a promotional video for a track from the “Monkey” album.
The project is part of British educational charity Design & Art Direction’s student awards 2009. The awards are an international creative competition for aspiring advertising and design scholars. Winners, who receive the D&AD Student Yellow Pencil award, are chosen by a panel of judges appointed by the charity for delivering the most creative solution to any one of 27 briefs. This year, one of the briefs is “create a music video for Monkey’s track ‘Pigsy In Space’.”
“For over 30 years, the D&AD Student Yellow Pencil has been one of the toughest student awards to win and one of the best first steps to a career in advertising and design,” said Laura Woodroffe, D&AD director of education & professional development in a statement.
London-based indie XL Recordings, which released the opera’s accompanying album in August, is one of the 2009 awards sponsors. sponsoring the award. “The D&AD Awards are an excellent platform for creativity and we are delighted to be playing a part in encouraging the next generation of visual artists,” said XL CEO Richard Russell in a statement.
The winning entry will collect their prize at the July 2 ceremony. A total of £35,000 in prize money is available, which is divided equally among all nominated entrants.
“Monkey: Journey to the West,” starts a month-long residency Nov. 8 in a purpose-built theater at London’s O2 Arena complex.
The show previously played seven dates at London’s Covent Garden Royal Opera House, having premiered at lthe 2007 Manchester International Festival.
