Entries are now open for the Young Creative Awards 2017.
The Nottingham Young Creative Awards 2017 give young people the chance to show off their creative work, network with future employers and gain valuable industry experience and mentoring.
The theme this year is ‘Nottingham, Future City’. Judges want young people, aged 13 to 24 who live, study or work in Nottingham to let their imaginations flow and enter pieces of work that reflect their ideas, dreams, plans and the changes they want to see for themselves or the city in the future.
Entries can be anything from a poem, a photograph, an article of clothing, a song, a painting, a design, a film, a short story or whatever people dream up!
There are 10 categories to enter, and there will be a winner from each. There will also be an overall winner across all the categories who will be named as the Young Creative of the Year 2017 and will win an additional cash prize, plus an opportunity for work experience, or mentoring from experts in their creative area.
Nigel Cooke Young Creative Awards organiser, said: “The awards are all about inspiring, supporting and encouraging creativity in the young people of Nottingham. These awards are one of the most exciting events in Nottingham’s creative calendar.
“They are incredibly important to the young creatives in the city because it’s a chance for them to showcase their work and meet other like-minded people, as well as helping them to take their first steps into a future career.”
The awards were introduced in 2009 to encourage and inspire young creative talent in Nottingham and to help young people take the next step in developing their potential.
Nigel Cooke added: “This year’s theme is “Nottingham, Future City”. This is your chance to show the people of Nottingham what changes you want to see. Who will live here and how might Nottingham people be living, shopping, working, or being entertained? Will we be a city of culture, science, sport or run by artificial intelligence? We want to know what your desires and dreams are for the city about culture, creativity, local communities, politics, law, nature, technology, the environment and more.”
The categories for 2017 are:
- Architecture and Design
- Animation and Digital Media
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Fashion and Textiles
- Film
- Graphic Design
- Music
- Photography
- Visual Arts
The closing date for entries is 13 March 2017, with the awards ceremony taking place at the Nottingham Playhouse on Wednesday 10 May 2017.
Last year’s winner, for the theme, ‘Goals and Dreams’ was Nottingham Trent University Theatre Design student, Rebecca Constable. She won for her creative writing piece. BAFTA award-winning local actress, Vicky McClure presented Rebecca with her award in front of a packed audience at Nottingham Playhouse.
Rebecca’s winning creative writing is an inspirational story about the struggle to overcome dyslexia and achieve the goal of a place at university. She wrote the piece with the hope that her short story can help raise awareness of what dyslexia is, and the personal impact teachers and students have on their pupils and classmates.
ENTRY CRITERIA
You must be between the ages of 13 and 24 at the closing date of 13 March 2017. There are 3 age bands – each will be judged in its age range.
- 13 – 15 years old
- 16 – 18 years old
- 19 – 24 years old
You may enter as an individual, as a group, as a class/study group or club.
In each age group and category the judging panels will look for a winner and highly commended entries.
The overall winner across all the categories will be named as the Young Creative of the Year 2017 and will win an additional cash prize, plus an opportunity for work experience, or mentoring from experts in their creative area.
The competition is open to anyone who lives, studies or works in Nottingham. The specification and criteria for each of the categories is available on the Young Creative Awards website.
All entrants will be invited to a free awards ceremony on Wednesday 10 May 2017, at the Nottingham Playhouse, where the entries will be showcased and celebrated.