Ahead of the ceremony at the newly opened Aviva Studios on Mon 4 Dec, the finalists of this year’s esteemed Manchester Culture Awards have been officially unveiled, with a selection of the city’s best organisations, establishments and inspirational individuals shortlisted across a wide array of categories.
First launched in 2018 as a recognition of our city’s blossoming reputation for world-class creativity and art, the Manchester Culture Awards invites nominations from members of the public, arts professionals, the voluntary and community sector and others to honour the best of regional culture and its talented pioneers, from large institutions to admirable figures in several areas.
This year, the awards received over 400 nominations across twelve categories, including best exhibition, best event, best performance of the year, independent creative of the year and more, as well as awards recognising the promotion of health and well-being, environmental sustainability, the promotion of culture and education, acknowledging both the scope of culture and artistry on offer in Manchester and the depth of positive impact the nominees have had on the city.
Over the last year, we’ve covered Manchester’s boundlessly diverse cultural landscape with features on several of this year’s awards nominees, including the National Football Museum’s From Moss Side to Marseille (Best Exhibition), Abel Selaocoe (Independent Creative of the Year), Z-Arts (Best Performance, Promotion of Talent and Leadership), Manchester Museum (Best Exhibition, Promotion of Culture and Leadership), the RNCM (Best Performance) and Qaizra Shahraz MBE, Director of MACFEST (Manchester People’s Culture Award).
The judging panel this year included Jackie Kay, writer and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Salford; Yandass Ndlovu, Artistic Director of I M Pact Collective; Pete Courtie, former Senior Relationship Manager Arts Council England; Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE, Deputy Leader Manchester City Council; and John Rooney, Director of Neighbourhood Delivery, Manchester City Council.
Click here for more info, and check out the full list of awards and nominees below:
Best Business Partnership
Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2022
The Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition
Levenshulme Murals with Heart Murals and Rosgal Ltd
The Modernist Society and BDP
The Whitworth and Pentagon Play
Best Event
Black Gold Arts x Whitworth Takeover
Manchester Art Gallery – Baby Week
Manchester Pride Festival
Royal Exchange Theatre – The Den in M8
SICK! Festival
Best Exhibition
Band on the Wall – Heroes of Manchester
Manchester City Centre Business Improvement District and Heard Storytelling – PROUD
Manchester Museum’s South Asia Gallery
National Football Museum – Moss Side to Marseille: The Art of Michael Browne and Eric Cantona
People’s History Museum – Nothing About Us Without Us
Best Performance
Hope Mill Theatre – Cinderella
Manchester Baroque and Manchester Cathedral – St John Passion
Quarantine – 12 Last Songs Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music – Leonard Bernstein’s Mass
Z-Arts – Grandad Anansi
Independent Creative of the Year
Abel Selaocoe
Isabella Leung
Jackie Bailey
Leslie Thompson
Mary Burke
Promotion of Culture and Education
All for Ukraine
Art With Heart
Community Arts North West and Curious Minds – Pushing Boundaries
Manchester Museum and the Grange School Manchester – Touching Perspectives
Youth Pride MCR
Promotion of Environmental Sustainability
Brigitte Jurack, Fieldnotes, at HOME
Manchester Histories – The History of Climate Change
Moss Side Power – House Fashion Extravaganza
Reform Radio
The National Trust – Castlefield Viaduct
Promotion of Equality and Social Justice
Amber Stother
GFF Damian Dance Studio
Odd Arts, Hideaway and 84YOUTH – In Our Words
Stanley Grove Primary Academy
Olympias Music Foundation – Voices of Hope
Promotion of Health and Wellbeing
CDM UK
Great Northern Events NW Ltd and The Oasis Centre
Lime – Create+
Manchester Art Gallery – Art of Resilience
String of Hearts
Promotion of Talent and Leadership
Afrocats
Factory Sounds
Manchester Literature Festival Young Producers – Flux
Reform Radio – Sound Camp
Z-arts – Chair Development Programme
Made in Manchester
Art Assembly – Castlefield Gallery
Royal Exchange Theatre – Cold Chips and Pick N Mix
SEEN
The Manchester Multilingual City Poets
TiPP
Young Creative of the Year
Binish Syed Qureshi
Fehintola Charis Obisesan
Sally Hirst
Tashan Biggs
Yelena Lashimba
In addition to the twelve main award categories members of the public were also asked to nominate and to vote for the winners of the Manchester People’s Cultural Award – with the final winner chosen by public vote in association with the Manchester Evening News.
The finalists for the Manchester People’s Culture Award are:
Alex Reuben
Dympna Gould
Fly on the Wall Press/Isabelle Kenyon
Keisha Thompson
MM Jazz
Qaisra Shahraz MBE
Rod Kippen
Young Identity
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Thu 23 Nov 2023
