The Nottingham Young Creative Awards celebrated its tenth year with a sell-out evening of performances and awards at the Nottingham Playhouse.
Kaia Lucas, aged 16, from Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, was crowned Nottingham’s 2018 Young Creative of the Year. Kaia won in the 16-18 year-old Visual Arts category by creating a series of paintings of her younger siblings. She stated in her entry that, ‘My mum is disabled so I play a massive part in their day-to-day life. I love them dearly’.
The judges praised Kaia’s ‘Bold use of colour and a mature approach to painting’. They said that she ‘managed to effectively communicate the fondness she has for her siblings in the choice of pose and the treatment of paint’.
Kaia, pictured, was presented with the award by Nottingham’s Young Poet Laureate, Georgina Wilding. The night included performances from local musicians Nina Smith – who is also a YCA Patron – Louis Croft, Ben Haynes and previous YCA award winners, dancers Isobel Benson and Alexandra Graham’s group. It also featured a reading by 2016 Young Creative of the Year Award winner, Rebecca Constable, who has since gone on to publish her first book.
This year has been a successful one for the Nottingham Young Creative Awards as it saw a record number of entries – more than 600 across the eleven categories – as well as a record number of attendees at the ceremony itself.
Councillor Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Education and Skills at Nottingham City Council, said: “I’d like to say a huge ‘well done’ to everyone who took part in the awards, and particularly to Kaia and the other category winners.
“The standard of entries was really high again this year and they highlight the fantastic range of skills and talents that our young people have in Nottingham.
“The awards are held each year and are an amazing way to recognise the brilliant young people living, working or studying in our city. I wish them all the very best – Nottingham’s creative future will be very safe in their hands.”
The final list of 2018 category winners is below:
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
(Sponsored by Maber Architects)
16-18 category – Daniel Bunka
19-24 category – Thomas Cran and Joseph Copley.
THEATRE
(Sponsored by University of Nottingham)
13-15 category – Unlimited Theatre
DANCE
(Sponsored by Dance4 and Nottingham CityCare Partnership)
13-15 category – Lucy Hardwick
16-18 category – Alexandra Graham
ANIMATION & DIGITAL MEDIA
(Sponsored by Confetti Media Group)
16-18 category – Georgia Monsheimer
19-24 category – Elle Griffiths
CREATIVE WRITING
(Sponsored by Tuntum Housing Association)
13-15 category – Ronia Iheama
16-18 category – Lewis Richardson
19-24 category – Ruby Speed
GRAPHIC DESIGN
(Sponsored by Nottingham College)
13-15 category – Roy Carmona
16-18 category – Troy Childerley
19-24 category – Jessica Forgie
VISUAL ARTS
(Sponsored by Nottingham Trent University)
13-15 category – Roy Carmona
16-18 category – Kaia Lucas
19-24 category – Chris Galloway
FASHION & TEXTILES
(Sponsored by the Pentland Group)
13-15 category – Mara Juric
16-18 category – Ebony Thomas
19-24 category – Melissa Cooke.
MUSIC
(Sponsored by Nottingham Music Hub)
13-15 category – Laura Shaw
16-18 category – Mango
19-24 category – Kelsey Shaw
PHOTOGRAPHY
(Sponsored by Nottingham College)
13-15 category – Sam Collishaw
16-18 category – Albert Nieciecki
19-24 category – Emma Price
FILM
(Sponsored by Skeleton Productions)
13-15 category – Conrad Simpson
16-18 category – Bobby Singh and Scottie Adjevi
19-24 category – Leticia Wright, Tony Akpovi and Ben Butler