Nominations are now open for the 6th annual Hearts for the Arts Awards, celebrating local authority and cultural trust arts champions and creative community projects.
The awards are an annual initiative from the National Campaign for the Arts, which advocates greater public investment in the arts to improve the lives of people across the UK.
Creativity and the arts played a vital role during the pandemic. The 2022 Hearts for the Arts Awards continue to celebrate the creative projects and people who have connected communities and encouraged artistic expression within post-pandemic recovery.
From creative activity that has brought communities together again, to digital innovation that has created new connections, to arts festivals, to civic uses of local cultural buildings and arts organisations, nominations are encouraged from a wide range of projects across the UK that have taken place between 21st November 2020 and 20th November 2021.
The awards are delivered in partnership with Community Leisure UK, Creative Lives, the Local Government Association, Thrive, UK Theatre, and Wales Council for Voluntary Action.
The winners are chosen by a judging panel of leading arts figures alongside actor and director and NCA Trustee, Samuel West. Last year’s judges included Adrian Lester CBE, Paul Hartnoll, Mariella Frostrup, Le Gateau Chocolat, Francesca Martinez, Helen Czerski and Petra Roberts from Hackney Council, who were 2020 award winners for their Windrush Generations festival. This year’s judges will be announced in January.
From 26th October until nominations close on 26th November, members of the public, arts professionals, local authorities and cultural trusts can visit the Hearts for the Arts Awards webpage to put nominations forward in three categories:
- Best Arts Champion – Councillor
- Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker
- Best Arts project
The awards are also open to cultural trusts working on behalf of local authorities. The National Campaign for the Arts is keen to recognise those who have used trust status to enhance arts provision and benefit local people. Therefore, the Best Arts Champion categories allow nominations for any local authority or cultural trust worker.
The winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day 2022 and the awards will be presented in collaboration with the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport conference which will be taking place in March 2022, hosted by LGA Chair, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson.
For more information, or to make a Hearts for the Arts Awards nomination, visit: https://forthearts.org.uk/campaigns/hearts-for-the-arts/
