Manchester Culture Awards 2023 finalists announced: full list of nominees for Aviva Studios ceremony

The finalists for each category of the Manchester Culture Awards 2023 have been announced. The awards celebrate some of the best and brightest talent across the city.

The 2023 ceremony will take place on Monday December 4 at Aviva Studios. Across the 12 categories this year, there were well over 400 nominations which all wanted to shine the light on an individual or organisation that helps make Manchester a vibrant, culturally rich city.

The judging panel this year included Jackie Kay, writer and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Salford; Yandass Ndlovu, Artistic Director of I M Pact Collective; Pete Courtie, former Senior Relationship Manager Arts Council England; Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE, Deputy Leader Manchester City Council; and John Rooney, Director of Neighbourhood Delivery, Manchester City Council.

Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE, Deputy Leader Manchester City Council said: "The judges were blown away again this year by the sheer volume of nominations made and what this says about the energy and enthusiasm there is in Manchester for culture and the arts.

"The calibre of all those nominated for awards is a reminder also of why Manchester is known as a place that punches well above its weight in terms of its culture and creative output.

"We're a city that actively encourages and supports the arts as an essential part of our vibrant identity making Manchester a place that people want to be, and we can't wait to announce this year's winners."

The finalists for the Manchester Culture Awards 2023

 Best Business Partnership

• Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2022
• The Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition 
• Levenshulme Murals with Heart Murals and Rosgal Ltd
• The Modernist Society and BDP
• The Whitworth and Pentagon Play

Best Event    

• Black Gold Arts x Whitworth Takeover
• Manchester Art Gallery - Baby Week
• Manchester Pride Festival
• Royal Exchange Theatre - The Den in M8
• SICK! Festival

Best Exhibition

• Band on the Wall - Heroes of Manchester 
• Manchester City Centre Business Improvement District and Heard Storytelling - PROUD
• Manchester Museum’s South Asia Gallery
• National Football Museum - Moss Side to Marseille: The Art of Michael Browne and Eric Cantona
• People's History Museum - Nothing About Us Without Us

Best Performance

• Hope Mill Theatre - Cinderella
• Manchester Baroque and Manchester Cathedral - St John Passion
• Quarantine – 12 Last Songs 
• Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music - Leonard Bernstein's Mass
• Z-Arts - Grandad Anansi

Independent Creative of the Year

• Abel Selaocoe
• Isabella Leung
• Jackie Bailey
• Leslie Thompson
• Mary Burke

Promotion of Culture and Education

• All for Ukraine
• Art With Heart
• Community Arts North West and Curious Minds - Pushing Boundaries
• Manchester Museum and the Grange School Manchester - Touching Perspectives
• Youth Pride MCR 

Promotion of Environmental Sustainability

• Brigitte Jurack, Fieldnotes, at HOME
• Manchester Histories - The History of Climate Change
• Moss Side Power - House Fashion Extravaganza
• Reform Radio
• The National Trust - Castlefield Viaduct

Promotion of Equality and Social Justice

• Amber Stother 
• GFF Damian Dance Studio
• Odd Arts, Hideaway and 84YOUTH - In Our Words 
• Stanley Grove Primary Academy
•  Olympias Music Foundation - Voices of Hope 

Promotion of Health and Wellbeing

• CDM UK
• Great Northern Events NW Ltd and The Oasis Centre
• Lime - Create+
• Manchester Art Gallery - Art of Resilience
• String of Hearts

Promotion of Talent and Leadership

• Afrocats
• Factory Sounds
• Manchester Literature Festival Young Producers - Flux
• Reform Radio - Sound Camp
• Z-arts - Chair Development Programme

Made in Manchester

• Art Assembly - Castlefield Gallery
• Royal Exchange Theatre - Cold Chips and Pick N Mix
• SEEN
• The Manchester Multilingual City Poets
• TiPP

Young Creative of the Year

• Binish Syed Qureshi
• Fehintola Charis Obisesan
• Sally Hirst
• Tashan Biggs
• Yelena Lashimba

In addition to the twelve main award categories members of the public were also asked to nominate and to vote for the winners of the Manchester People's Cultural Award.

•  Alex Reuben
• Dympna Gould
• Fly on the Wall Press/Isabelle Kenyon
• Keisha Thompson
• MM Jazz
• Qaisra Shahraz MBE
• Rod Kippen
• Young Identity