Beavertown spotlights creative hospitality workers with new competition

It’s the artwork of Beavertown’s creative director Nick Dwyer, who is spearheading a new competition for the brand that asks hospitality workers to embrace their creative side and send in their top work. Over the course of the next few weeks, the Heineken-owned brand will go through each submission to choose 10 winners that will receive £1000 and have their work featured online and as part of a showcase in London.

“Beavertown is a creative and visually led brand,” says Dwyer. “We’re trying to do things that people haven’t seen before.” It’s a sentiment he believes rings true with a lot of up-and-coming artists; they have ideas that are new but just need a platform to get them out there. As he puts it, they are attempting to set up a reflective platform that can also grow with the competition.

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“This project was just as important as it was natural,” he explains. “It’s exactly the sort of chance I was fortuitously given back in the day.” The illustrator was working behind the bar at Plant’s Duke’s Brew and Que pub when he began getting recognition for his artwork, eventually becoming a vital member of the Beavertown crew.

Setting its sights on hospitality workers was obviously a natural fit for the brand, it’s a sector that Dwyer says is buzzing with creative talent. Conversations before and after shifts can result in some amazing project ideas and sometimes, constructive criticism.

“Because I’m a little arrogant I would pull out a sketchbook and show everyone what I’ve been working on,” he laughs, half-joking he adds that he expected high praise but was often meant with confusion, especially when it came to his penchant for drawing skulls. “It was a way for me to get feedback.”

That’s what you get when you’re working alongside such a broad range of different people. “You’ll find everybody in hospitality so you’re going to get an opinion about something from someone.”

Submissions have already been coming in thick and fast, which is exciting for all involved. Dwyer is adamant that he doesn’t want to see any until the end though, so not to pick any favorites right away. “We’re not pushing people to create things for us,” he clarifies. “It’s things they are proud of, that they have created with love and passion.”

His personal stance is the “weirder the better” but that’s not the official brief, there isn’t one as such, just a call to submit your best work.

Mid-May will see the winners announced and promoted on Beavertown’s marketing channels. The ‘Creatives Untapped’ showcase will open this summer, with media and industry specialists in attendance to check out the work.

If you fancy entering the competition, check out the website here.