The winners of this year’s prestigious Manchester Culture Awards 2024 have been announced at a special awards ceremony held at the weekend.
Launched by the city council back in 2018 to acknowledge Manchester’s fast-growing reputation for culture and the arts, the annual awards recognise the very best of culture, creativity and the arts in the city – from the grassroots up.
They pay homage to the 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 the awards were invited earlier this year from members of the public, arts professionals, the voluntary and community sector and anyone else with an interest in culture and the arts – with nearly 400 nominations received.
All nominations had to reflect activity between April 2023 and March this year with nominees either based in Manchester or having 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.
As well as award categories recognising everything from, best event, best exhibition, and young creative of the year, to others that shine a spotlight on important theme of our times including the promotion of health and well-being, social justice and the environment, two Special Recognition Awards were made on the night.
The Special Recognition Awards were awarded by the judges to recognise the huge individual contribution made to culture and creativity in Manchester by the two recipients over a number of years.
The ceremony also saw the announcement of The Manchester People’s Culture Award – a special award made in partnership with the Manchester Evening News, with the winner chosen entirely by public vote.
Hosted by TV and radio personality Jenny Powell with co-hosts Jack So, Lauren Temple and Pelumi Fatayo – who are all young creatives living and working in Manchester – the ceremony saw awards made across twelve different categories in front of an audience of 300 individuals, all either involved or with an interest in culture and the arts in the city.
The winners in each category were:
Best Business Partnership
Cargill and Z-arts
Promotion of Culture and Education
Lekhani Chirwa
Best Performance
Census- Malandra Jacks
Promotion of Equality and Social Justice – two winners
ALL FM
Venture Arts
Young Creative of the Year
Eden-Haya Walters
Promotion of Talent and Leadership – two winners
Brighter Sound
MyHub Manchester’s Music Education Hub 2012 – 2024
Promotion of Environmental Sustainability
Fly on the Wall Press
Promotion of Health and Wellbeing
SMASH – Sick! Productions
Best Exhibition
Yayoi Kusama ‘You, Me and the Balloons’ – Factory International/ Manchester International Festival
Made in Manchester
TiPP
Independent Creative of the Year
Omid Asadi
Best Event
Festival of Libraries
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The Manchester People’s Culture Award
Sahba Academy
Special Recognition Award
Debra King
Special Recognition Award
DJ Paulette
