SPA unveils new office
On Thursday 24th May, SPA officially opened their Livingston office with special guests from West Lothian College. NC Art and Design students collaborated on a mural capturing the best of Scotland through iconic landmarks, flora and fauna with five individual works framed throughout the office.
SPA was created both by and for organisations that buy products and services for the construction, refurbishment and maintenance of social housing and public buildings in Scotland. The organisation, which represents over 79 public sector organisations throughout Scotland, chose Livingston as a location from which to service its nationwide client base. As a not-for-profit organisation, dedicated to supporting its partners in improving the lives of their residents and the communities they serve, supporting the local community near their new office in Livingston was a natural decision.
Alex Harvey, Lecturer in Art & Design at West Lothian College, said:
"Our students work on generating proposals for public artworks each year. Being invited by the Scottish Procurement Alliance to create a feature wall and artworks for their office environment has been a wonderful opportunity for our NC students to actually see their work realised.
This experience has been valuable for students and will serve them well as they continue to progress on to the next level of their studies. The students have really stepped up to the challenge and contributed something dynamic to add to the space.
The students and senior management team from West Lothian College were especially delighted to be invited to the official launch. Everyone seems really happy with the resulting artworks, hopefully the work will continue to be enjoyed for years to come."
The students attended a short presentation in the Lewis boardroom led by Clive Feeney, Director of SPA, who gave them an overview of the work undertaken by SPA. Afterwards each student was given a gift from the SPA team to express their gratitude. Mary Mitchell, SPA Chair, cut the ribbon in front of the student’s mural to officially open the office to partners.
Clive Feeney, Director of SPA, said:
“As this is to be a permanent base for our business, we wanted to engage our local community and at the same time find a way of demonstrating our commitment to all communities throughout Scotland.
Working with the local college was an obvious option and we are delighted to have been able to support the students with their course work. The art they have created has surpassed our expectations and we cannot thank them enough for all of their hard work.
We wish them every success in the future”
