The Manchester Culture Awards are back for 2024 with nominations opening this week for the prestigious awards that recognise the city’s cultural and creative highlights over the last year.
The awards were launched in 2018 by the city council to acknowledge Manchester’s rapidly growing reputation for culture and the arts, with the annual awards recognising the very best of culture, creativity, and the arts in the city – from the grassroots up.
They recognise individuals, events, and organisations big and small, that together help make Manchester the vibrant and exciting place for culture and the arts it is.
Nominations for this year’s awards open this week on Thursday 30 May, with nominations accepted across twelve different categories, including Best Event, Best Performance, Best Exhibition and Young Creative of the Year, as well as other awards that shine a spotlight on some of the important themes of our times such as health and well-being, the environment, and social justice.
This year will once again also see a special award made in partnership with the Manchester Evening News. The Manchester People’s Culture Award will be presented to an individual or organisation whose dedication and contribution to culture in Manchester stands above the rest and deserves to be recognised, with the final winner of the award chosen by public vote.
Nominees for each of the awards must either be based in the city of Manchester, or have a strong track record of delivering activity for the benefit of people who live in or visit the city, or that benefits the local economy. Nominations are welcomed from professional, amateur and community sectors.
All nominations must reflect activity that has taken place between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 – apart from the Manchester People’s Culture Award, which recognises achievement over a number of years.
To be recognised for a Manchester Culture Award, nominees must be involved in one or more of the following areas: visual art, music, theatre, performance, dance, film and broadcast media, literature, digital art, photography, craft, or heritage arts.
Once all the nominations are in, judging will take place over the summer ahead of a special awards ceremony to be held at the end of the year – with more details to follow on this soon.
In addition to deciding the finalists and winners in each of the main award categories, judges also have discretion to present Special Recognition Awards to anyone who they consider has made a real difference to the cultural life of the city. Previous recipients of Special Recognition Awards include poet Lemn Sissay OBE, former Halle Music Director Sir Mark Elder, poet performance artist dramatist and writer SuAndi OBE, and former Director of HOME Dave Moutrey OBE. It
