Will There Be Bells?
There are few questions we can ask of jurors in respect of the ICAD awards. Not simply because their deliberations, decisions and privacy are sacrosanct in the arduous process that is assessing and awarding ICAD members with those wonderful bells. The autonomy of our juries and their choices are theirs and theirs alone. We assemble and trust. Trust in experience, in talent, in wisdom, in their fairness, in their integrity. But it is not simply a case that I personally choose not to ask questions of a jury simply to hold strong and protect the professionalism of our awards, It’s because I don’t want to know.
I enjoy the not knowing, the questioning, the was it? or is it good enough? What colour? What project? For me personally I still simply enjoy the surprise, I take nothing for granted and assume nothing until that night. I am now, very much, old enough to take the disappointment knowing that whilst they are a part of what we do they are just that and ICAD is so much more. But with that said, I do love that surprise if and when it comes and as my granny reminds me from time to time, there aren’t that many surprises in life that are good so enjoy them when they come along.
This year feels different and we all know why, this year of all, having something to look forward to, something that resembles our previous norm, something that feels like a celebration is a thing we all need, come what may. I will not bore you with the journey it has taken ICAD, its board, its members and its staff to get to this point, right here, right now, because we have all had our challenges and ICAD is no different but here we are, now, at something that feels like the end and yet a new beginning.
So here we are at 6.45 pm on a very late Friday. what can I ask them, those four esteemed Jury chairs sitting in front of their lists waiting to sign off on those results? Those who represent the best of us and who along with their fellow jurors both national and international have so graciously stuck with us the whole way, well ten minutes ago in a very strict boardroom, over a very delicious glass of red wine I asked them this. “Will there be bells?”
Their collective answer, yes, there will be bells!
Above pictured right to left 2020 – 2021 Jury Chairs: Rob Maguire, Des Kavanagh, Kasia Ozmin and Keith Hutchinson.
