Carnival Diary: Streamers out for We7

At Cowley Road Carnival we’re announcing that online music service we7 is supporting us in some innovative ways by promoting the event on its service and providing royalty-paid music streamed to our website. we7 is planning to be at the Carnival with a presence in South Park.

The Carnival organisers can’t thank we7 enough and they in turn are pleased to have made the connection, as this is a sponsorship that has lots of benefits for everyone involved.

For we7 it offers a virtual brand a way of engaging with a geographical and cultural niche of its market in a very physical way. The firm has a base in Oxford, so this is a way of demonstrating that even virtual businesses have a place in the real world. There is value in connecting with their local communities just as much as their online ones.

And then, the Carnival – and Cowley Road – is a seedbed for up and coming musicians, and we7′s humble beginnings were in supporting unknown artists. So in a small way at any rate, association with Cowley Road Carnival connects we7 with its beginnings and helps to differentiate the brand in an increasingly crowded market.

For the musicians appearing at the Carnival, having we7 involved helps them too because it associates them with we7 subscribers who are interested in new music from diverse cultures.

And for the carnival organisers, who have limited resources for extensive promotion, it projects the Carnival online, giving access to a previously untapped seam of music fans. It also associates Cowley Road Carnival with a major music brand, which can only encourage more businesses to join in.

Now that’s worth celebrating.

Vote for the Ashmolean, Oxford’s very own prize museum

Oxford is famous for so many reasons and those of us who live in or near the city tend to take its riches for granted. After all, when you live in a city as beautiful as this, you can be forgiven for not staring agog at every mediaeval tower, grand Georgian townhouse or domed auditorium.

Perhaps the most enviable gift that Oxford residents have, in a cultural sense, is the Ashmolean Museum. There are so many people from around the world who when they visit Oxford see the Ashmolean and swear they would kill to have a museum like it on their doorstep. Open freely to the public all year round, it houses one of the finest collections of art and archaeology you’re likely to come across. There are Egyptian mummies, a major Print Room, an incredibly important collection of musical instruments and even Guy Fawkes’ original lantern!

Its 17th Century origins make it the oldest public museum in the world. Now, after a £61m overhaul, it is one of the newest. As a longstanding Oxford resident I can confirm that the transformation is complete in every sense, as the Museum has taken a completely new approach to display and interaction. The cornerstone of this is Crossing Cultures, Crossing Time, which places beautiful objects from different periods together, taking visitors on a journey of comparisons through time and culture.

The Ashmolean Museum is on the shortlist for the coveted 2010 £100,000 Art Fund Prize, which recognises the museum or gallery which has most increased public appreciation of its treasures.

In my view the Ashmolean achieves this because the transformation has not only put so many objects and collections on show and in appropriate settings, it has successfully created the architectural space to house the journey of Crossing Cultures, Crossing Time, with 39 new galleries, walkways, open vistas and a huge central atrium. As a visitor experience it works for every purpose, from research and education, to tourist visits and inspiring family outings.

My client Carter Jonas, the Oxfordshire branch of this national property firm, has supported the Ashmolean for years throughout its transformation. Now we are actively getting the word out that the Art Fund Prize is influenced by a public online vote. Although it won’t decide the outcome, the votes and comments received by the public will be considered by the judges.

So if, like me, the Ashmolean is your favourite transformed museum in the UK, click here to vote. The deadline is 5pm 18th June, and the results will be announced on the 30th.