The Legacy Award Series
Designing a new award to commemorate outstanding achievement in the world of plant genetic resources
Project Snapshot
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Team & Timeline
October 2017 - February 2018
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Role: Project lead, product design, project management, event management, media strategy
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Team: Professional work in collaboration with Crop Trust communications team, including Luis Salazar and Charlotte Lusty
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Problem
How might we recognize retiring genebank managers' outstanding achievements in the world of plant genetic resources?
General, non-crop specific Legacy Award
Marie Haga, Former Crop Trust Executive Director (left) presents HRH The Prince of Wales with Legacy award at a luncheon in London to support crop conservation efforts.
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Overview
Beginning in 2017, I led the design of the Crop Trust Legacy Award series to commemorate individuals' outstanding achievements in the world of plant genetic resources in close collaboration with Luis Salazar and Charlotte Lusty. As an organization, we realized a group of long-serving genebank managers were reaching retirement and needed to be recognized for their work but were unsure how best to celebrate their achievements.
After a list of recipients was selected, I worked closely with the Crop Trust science team to design what this award could be and what the series could embody.
Working with Australian visual artist, Sophie Munns, I oversaw the design and production of personalized awards for each awardee, featuring unique and specially commissioned art pieces featuring each awardee's favorite crop. We also commissioned a more general award piece featuring a diverse range of crops, which was awarded to our Global Patron: HRH the Prince of Wales (top left) and Cary Fowler, Former Executive Director of the Crop Trust. I went through rounds of edits with the artist to ensure that each piece was accurate and compelling and oversaw all aspects of the award development, the ceremony, and the inaugural awards dinner in Svalbard in February 2018.
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Outcome & Impact
The awards ceremony took place in February 2018, where over 100 guests convened to celebrate the manager's achievements, as well as the remarkable achievements of Cary Fowler, former Crop Trust Executive Director and a key stakeholder in the Vault's creation in 2007. Remarks were given by Norwegian Minister of Food and Agriculture, H.E. Jon Georg Dale; the Crop Trust's Executive Director, Marie Haga; and others who commended the awardees' efforts to safeguard crop diversity for the future of our food system.
H.E. Jon Georg Dale speaks at Legacy Award Ceremony.H.E. Jon Georg Dale
How We Got There
Artwork by Australian Artist, Sophie Munns
Collaborating with the Artist
After a brainstorming session, we decided to engage Australian visual artist Sophie Munns, who had previously designed a Crop Trust Christmas card. I worked closely with Sophie and our finance team to negotiate a reduced rate for the work and to identify a mutually beneficial partnership. Sophie, who is a longtime advocate of the Crop Trust's mission, graciously did the work at cost.
Over the next few months, I developed mood boards for each award featuring a selection of images for each specific crop and went back and forth with Sophie and our science team to ensure the award designs were scientifically accurate (given the audience) while allowing room for artistic expression. A total of six bespoke awards were made featuring: forages, potatoes, wheat, rice, beans, and groundnut.
While these bespoke awards were meaningful and extremely unique, I realized that not every awardee in the future would have a favorite crop. Also, given the not-for-profit work of the Crop Trust, it could become cost-prohibitive to design custom one-off-awards regularly. I, therefore, began to explore an award that featured a range of the world's most globally-significant crops, which could be awarded to individuals on a more regular basis.
Mary-Ann's Polarrigg, the venue for the inaugural ceremony in Svalbard in February 2018.
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Process
Rather than develop a one-size-fits-all prize, we wanted each award to be customized to the awardee's life's work. Given that each of the genebank managers led genebanks that conserved a specific set of crops, we decided to design awards that featured each manager's favorite crop. Rather than poll them, given the surprise nature of the award, we went back through our relationship with each manager to identify which crop would resonate the most with them. We wanted each award to be unique and highlight their individual "legacy," which later informed what we would call the award series.
Facebook post from Australian Visual Artist Sophie Munns on our collaboration.
Fabricating the Physical Award
Once all of the artwork was finalized, we needed a physical award, and I worked with a local manufacturer to design the physical manifestation of the award, exploring encasing a physical print in glass with different framing options before arriving at a design where each print was etched onto a 10x10 in. piece of glass and mounted to a wooden stand. Each wooden frame featured a brass plaque with the Crop Trust logo and the recipient's name.
Designing Inaugural Award Ceremony
While the awards were being designed and produced, I also created the run of show for the award ceremony, a special event in Svalbard that would coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This work included identifying a venue, menu, and lineup of speakers, coordinating with our host of partners, drafting the ceremony's press release and social media strategy, securing media coverage, and arranging interviews with press and awardees. Mary-Ann's Polarrigg was selected as the venue because of its glass Winter Garden, which gave beautiful views of the snowy arctic tundra while guests were dining amid a green oasis of plants – paying homage to the essence of the award.
Legacy Award Video
A Legacy Award video was produced by my colleague, Luis Salazar and played during the award ceremony, and shared widely on social media. The video was created over a series of months, interviewing key stakeholders about the genebank manager's achievements as well as visiting each of the genebanks and taking live footage of the managers and their work.