The shortlist has been announced for the National Campaign for the Arts’ (NCA) Hearts for the Arts Awards 2022. The awards celebrate the unsung heroes of Local Authorities who are championing the arts against all odds.

This year’s winners will be selected from the shortlist by a judging panel of key arts industry experts and practitioners with winners announced on Valentine’s day on February 14th. The judging panel includes:

• Andy Dawson, Inspire Youth Arts, winner of the 2021 HFTA award for Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker
• Krishnan Guru-Murthy, journalist and presenter of Channel 4 News
• Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, author, speaker and supporter of music education
• Shaparak Khorsandi, stand up comedian, writer, all round delight
• Anna Lapwood, organist, conductor and broadcaster
• Deborah Meaden, businesswoman and TV Dragon
• Jack Thorne, screenwriter and playwright
• Samuel West, actor and director, NCA Trustee

The shortlist is made up of an eclectic mix of inspiring projects and people bringing creativity into people’s lives to revitalise communities, reboot economies, and care for the most vulnerable in society. Nominations were received from across the UK for each of the three award categories: Best Arts Project; Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker; and Best Arts Champion – Councillor. The shortlist was judged by representatives from the National Campaign for the Arts and from this year’s award partners: Community Leisure UK, Creative Lives, the Local Government Association, Thrive and UK Theatre.

From a Silent Film Festival, to art exhibitions in disused shops, and from music-making and intergenerational choir projects to digital innovation, this year’s shortlist proves that the arts can be a vital support to the NHS and to many other UK organisations responsible for care and rehabilitation, and that creativity makes connections for those who need it most.

Find below the nominees:

• Best Arts Project
  • Westminster Reveals – Westminster City Council
  • Electric Medway – Medway Council
  • Of Earth & Sky – North Lincolnshire Council
  • Raw Material Music and Media – London Borough of Lambeth
  • Live @ the Lightbox – Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
  • Together & Apart – Wakefield Council
  • LOVE Local Arts – Arun District Council & Littlehampton Town Council
  • Intergenerational Connections Project – Mole Valley District Council
  • Hippodrome Silent Film Festival – Falkirk Community Trust
  • Anstee Bridge – Achieving Children and Kingston Borough Council
  • The Big Thank You Volunteers Picnic – Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
  • We Found Love in the 80s – City of London and Waltham Forest

• Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker
  • Claire Starmer – Birmingham City Council
  • Deborah McGill – Live Borders
  • Michelle Walker – Southwark Council
  • Zerritha Brown – London Borough of Brent

• Best Arts Champion – Councillor
  • Councillor Danny Thorpe – Royal Borough of Greenwich
  • Councillor Ffion Meleri Gwyn – Cyngor Tref Criccieth Town Council
  • Councillor Mary Huggins – Mole Valley District Council
  • Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe – City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Samuel West, a Trustee of the National Campaign for the Arts, said:

“The pandemic has given us no respite since March 2020; instability and insecurity still threaten the survival of our arts industry. I am astounded, therefore, at the achievements of the people and projects on the shortlist for this year’s Hearts for the Arts Awards. We hope that recognising their efforts will give the cheer of encouragement needed for local authorities, artists and arts organisations to keep going. The work you’re doing is incredibly important – as proved by the great impact all those shortlisted have had on their participants, communities and audiences”.

More information on the shortlisted nominees visit forthearts.org.uk/campaigns/hearts-for-the-arts