Calderdale in the running for national arts award

The People's Fair at Halifax Piece Hall. Picture by Sarah Mason

The shortlist has announced for the National Camnpaign for the Arts’ Hearts For The Arts Awards 2018 - the awards celebrate the work of councils, councillors and council officers who have overcome financial challenges to ensure the arts stay at the centre of community life.

Calderdale Council has been nominated in the Local Authority Arts Project Encouraging Community Cohesion category for its Landlines and Watermarks project.

The project worked on arts presentations which included input from people who live in flood-hit communities from Todmorden to Brighouse.

These were showcased at Halifax Piece Hall just before Christmas at The People’s Fair event.

Nominations were received for awards in four categories: Best Local Authority Arts Initiative, Best Local Authority Arts Champion - Councillor, Best Local Authority Arts Champion - Officer, and Best Local Authority Arts Project Encouraging Community Cohesion.

This year the campaign received more nominations than ever before and from all four UK nations.

The shortlist was judged by representatives from this year’s partners in the awards - UK Theatre, Arts Development UK, Culture Counts, the Local Government Association, and What Next?.

Discussing Calderdale Council’s nomination, a spokesperson for Culture Counts said: “This community driven festival brought together local people at a challenging time for the community.

“Allowing hundreds of people to give voice to their experience allowed the community to support each other; that voice was found through arts and culture.

“Engaging in creativity allowed Calderdale to celebrate its resilience.”

The 2018 Hearts For The Arts Awards are delivered by the NCA and UK Theatre, in partnership with Culture Counts, the Local Government Association (LGA), Arts Development UK (ADUK) and What Next?.

The winners of the Hearts For The Arts Awards 2018 will be announced on Wednesday 14 February.

Judges for the 2018 awards will be Samuel West (chair of the NCA), Rachel Wood (arts development officer, Oldham Borough Council and 2017 winner), Roy Williams, OBE (playwright and NCA board member), Phillip Pullman (author), David Lan (playwright and director), Josie Long (comedian) and Maria Balshaw (director of the Tate).

For more information on all the shortlisted nominees, visit http://bit.ly/2moMesH