18 February 2009
At its Northumberland headquarters, pharmaceutical company SCM Pharma , commissioned local artist Neil Armstrong to develop an installation that could be on permanent show. The brief was to illustrate through video, how the company works and its ethos.
Neil spent six months filming snap shots of life at the company, which included interviews, audio and concentration on technical aspects of work. After an additional three months of editing and artistic direction, his work was complete and comprised one controlling piece of footage lasting approximately eight minutes and seven supporting pieces.
A tower was erected in the company’s Stockfield office and television screens and audio equipment set within it. The tower now stands in a central location in the office for maximum impact and feedback from clients and internally has been overwhelming positive.
Commenting on the installation, Brian Dougherty, co-owner and director at SCM Pharma , said: "Since inception of the company we have tried particularly hard to break the traditional archetype of a pharmaceutical company. Throughout our buildings the injection of colour and comfort in addition to our anti-corporate approach to management, means that year-on-year we have enjoyed excellent growth and staff retention.
"Working with artists like Neil, has also been critical to support this approach and we feel art is not only exciting and thought-provoking to have in a work environment, but it also provides our clients and visitors with an unusual talking point, that we find very refreshing.
"Neil’s installation has proved very popular with the team at SCM Pharma particularly as it is so interactive. While the filming was being undertaken a huge buzz was generated across all our sites and the unveiling of the show came with great excitement and anticipation.
"All of our clients that come through the door want to know the story behind the tower and watch the footage and they have all been very impressed with how well it depicts the work we do and our company ethos.
"We are heavily committed to supporting the local artists from Musa, especially when we can enjoy tailor-made impressionistic installations from very talented artists such as Neil."
Neil’s commission came through the company’s co-owner and director, Fiona Cruickshank, who is non executive chairman of Musa Fine Art . In a bid to make the company’s headquarters and labs a more inspiring place to work and do business, a series of artworks have been installed for five years.
Neil spent six months filming snap shots of life at the company, which included interviews, audio and concentration on technical aspects of work. After an additional three months of editing and artistic direction, his work was complete and comprised one controlling piece of footage lasting approximately eight minutes and seven supporting pieces.
A tower was erected in the company’s Stockfield office and television screens and audio equipment set within it. The tower now stands in a central location in the office for maximum impact and feedback from clients and internally has been overwhelming positive.
Commenting on the installation, Brian Dougherty, co-owner and director at SCM Pharma , said: "Since inception of the company we have tried particularly hard to break the traditional archetype of a pharmaceutical company. Throughout our buildings the injection of colour and comfort in addition to our anti-corporate approach to management, means that year-on-year we have enjoyed excellent growth and staff retention.
"Working with artists like Neil, has also been critical to support this approach and we feel art is not only exciting and thought-provoking to have in a work environment, but it also provides our clients and visitors with an unusual talking point, that we find very refreshing.
"Neil’s installation has proved very popular with the team at SCM Pharma particularly as it is so interactive. While the filming was being undertaken a huge buzz was generated across all our sites and the unveiling of the show came with great excitement and anticipation.
"All of our clients that come through the door want to know the story behind the tower and watch the footage and they have all been very impressed with how well it depicts the work we do and our company ethos.
"We are heavily committed to supporting the local artists from Musa, especially when we can enjoy tailor-made impressionistic installations from very talented artists such as Neil."
Neil’s commission came through the company’s co-owner and director, Fiona Cruickshank, who is non executive chairman of Musa Fine Art . In a bid to make the company’s headquarters and labs a more inspiring place to work and do business, a series of artworks have been installed for five years.
