There are now just a few days left for Scotland’s best musicians, actors, artists, dancers and writers to put their names forward to be in with a chance of scooping an award in the nation’s new ‘Cultural Oscars’.
The deadline for the inaugural Sunday Herald Culture Awards is this Thursday and entries can still be submitted for free online in the run-up to the closing date.
There are 11 prizes up for grabs, with a lavish awards ceremony taking place on Thursday, July 7, 2016 at the SWG3 venue in Glasgow.
All entries will be judges by our panel of industry experts who include, author and playwright Alan Bissett, television and stage actor David Hayman, signer songwriter Roddy Woomble, leading graphic designer and Creative Director at Graven Janice Kirkpatrick OBE, Dean of Arts & Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University Pauline Miller Judd, journalist and broadcaster, Ruth Wishart, and actor Morven Christie. The panel will be chaired by Sunday Herald editor and author Neil Mackay.
Napier University’s Pauline Miller Judd said: “Working with our arts students, I see something new and exciting every day and I know this is true across the Scottish scene. We’re very excited to sponsor the Cultural Event of the Year and I look forward to judging captivating entries across a broad range of events.
“For me, events that have produced great emotional responses in people and that live long in the memory will stand out in this category.”
Sunday Herald editor Neil Mackay said: “The Sunday Herald has always supported Scotland’s outstanding arts scene, and I am delighted that our first ever Culture Awards will give us the opportunity to showcase and recognise the best of the nation’s creative talent.
“But with just a few days left until entry deadline we want to make a final appeal to those who make such a contribution to Scotland’s culture to make sure they don’t miss out on getting recognition for their work and for them to send their entries as soon as they can.”
The awards will include: Best Actor, Best Musical Artist, Best Visual Artist, Author of the Year, Cultural Event of the Year sponsored by Edinburgh Napier University, Best Live Performance sponsored by Caledonian MacBrayne, Best Theatre Actor, Best Musical Group, Best Dance Performer, Best Performing Arts Venue sponsored by Cameron Presentations, The One to Watch Award, and the Judges’ Choice Moment.
Awards sponsors are also calling on members of Scotland’s cultural community to nominate talented individuals and groups, as well as to consider putting their own name forward for their event.
The inaugural Scottish Culture Awards are supported by Edinburgh Napier University, Caledonian MacBrayne and Cameron Presentations.
Adam Cameron, business manager, Cameron Presentations, said: “With under a week left to enter, I would encourage everyone involved in Scotland’s cultural scene to put forward their entries. We see lots of events happening across Scotland – there is plenty to shout about.”
CalMac’s Marketing Manager, Peter Griffiths, said: “As a company, CalMac has been involved in supporting a growing number of festivals and cultural events. These are primarily, though not exclusively, across Scotland’s west coast and the range is always inspirational.
“As well as the huge crowd-drawing events at major venues, there are a growing number of small or medium sized festivals, gigs and other events the length and breadth of Scotland where you can experience amazing and intimate performances often in an unexpected setting.
“It is the exceptional variety of cultural activity which should make [the Best Live Performance category, sponsored by CalMac] enormously diverse and I have no doubt there will be some tremendous surprises in amongst the entries.
“I seriously encourage people to put finger to keyboard or even old-fashioned pen to paper, to nominate their favourite.
“Whether on a tiny stage in a community setting or within a huge venue – put your thinking caps on and let others know all about it.”
Entries can be submitted free for the awards, in the categories mentioned above, at https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/sunday-herald-culture-awards.