BAFTA Nominee to host the Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards

With just days left to enter the 2019 Culture and Creativity Awards in the Liverpool City Region, the host of the glittering ceremony taking place at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Wirral in November has been announced.

Critically acclaimed award-winning actor, screenwriter and BAFTA Cymru nominee Celyn Jones, who is standing in the Best Actor category against Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen for his role in ITV’s Manhunt, will be hosting the event joined by a number of guest presenters.

Born and raised on the island of Anglesey in North Wales, Celyn lives in Wirral with his family, is a co-founder of the internationally recognised and Wirral based Mad as Birds Films and a proud Welsh ambassador for the children’s charity Into Film.

These are the first city region-wide Culture and Creativity Awards and have been created by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation in art, culture and creativity across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. The deadline has just been extended to this Friday 27^th September 2019.

Nominations will be shortlisted by the panel of judges. Some categories will then go to a public vote.

There are eleven categories including the People’s Choice award and the Star of the Borough of Culture – which this year is Wirral. There will also be an Inspiration Award for Lifetime Achievement chosen by the panel.

The judges have been named as:

• Phil Redmond – Chair of the Culture Partnership
• Alison Clark – ACE North Director
• Lucy Barrow – Assistant Director, Wirral Borough Council
• Alastair Machray – Editor in chief, Liverpool Echo
• Claire McColgan – Director, Culture Liverpool
• Professor Dinah Birch – Pro-Vice Chancellor for Cultural Engagement, University of Liverpool
• Alan Higgins – Head of Programme, LCR Public Health England North West
• Michelle Charters – CEO, Kuumba Imani Centre

Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said:

“I’m delighted to welcome our host and the judging panel and know what a difficult job they will have in choosing the winners of the first Culture and Creativity Awards. Culture and creativity are in our DNA and we should celebrate what makes us special.

“We are inviting nominations from across the Liverpool City Region. Who do you know who has used culture and creativity to make a big difference in your community? Or is there someone you feel is inspiring and innovative in art, culture or through their creativity? We want to hear from you so we can celebrate and recognise what’s happening culturally in our city region. I wish everyone the best of luck and look forward to seeing the results in November.”

The awards are part of the Metro Mayor’s 1% for Culture initiative and will honour the value and contribution that the cultural and creative sector brings to the Liverpool City Region.

The 1% for Culture initiative means that Liverpool City Region currently uses the equivalent of 1% of its £30 million annual devolution funding to stimulate cultural and creative opportunities.

Chair of the Liverpool City Region Cultural Partnership Phil Redmond said:

“Everything in life starts with people and their ideas and talent. Whether music, science, sport, business or literature, the region has always been a crucible of creative innovation. These inaugural awards are part of the long term cultural strategy to find, nurture, exhibit and promote that creative energy. In future years these will be the awards to watch for both evolving and emerging talent. And the one everyone will want to win. To be, simply, the best at what they do.”

The competition closes on Friday 27^th September 2019 with the red carpet ceremony taking place on 28th November 2019 at the Lady Lever Art Gallery hosted by the 2019 Liverpool City Region ‘Borough of Culture’, Wirral.

Nominees must live, study and/or work in the Liverpool City Region – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral, or have created work/projects that significantly benefit the residents or visitors to the LCR and/or has positively contributed to the development of the economy of the LCR.

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