Creative Edinburgh Awards 2017: shortlist revealed

The annual celebration of Edinburgh's creatives is nearly upon us – here are this year’s nominees

Article by The Skinny | 13 Nov 2017

Today Creative Edinburgh have announced the shortlist for its annual awards, celebrating achievements across the creative arts in the city. Hidden Door Festival, The Architecture Fringe, Bright Side Studio and 404 Ink are among this year’s array of nominees.

For the uninitiated, Creative Edinburgh is the largest network of creatives in Edinburgh, and the organisation is committed to celebrating and advancing the value and impact of its members, both locally and internationally. Today’s shortlist is spread over nine categories and covers the full spectrum of the creative industries with nominations for individuals, collectives, organisations and companies being handed out for everything from furniture making to festivals, graphic novels to grand architectural plans.

“Our shortlist this year is outstanding,” says Creative Edinburgh chair Mark Gorman. “We are looking forward to celebrating their achievements at the awards party and marking a standout year for Edinburgh in terms of creativity, ambition and the strength of our brilliant community.”

Claire Stewart, director of Creative Edinburgh, notes that this strong shortlist is thanks to Creative Edinburgh’s open policy for entering the competition. “Creative Edinburgh ensure that our annual awards are accessible by making them open and free to enter,” Stewart says, “and we believe that produces the strongest of shortlist selections, who have been put forward by the community, underlining Edinburgh’s vibrancy and ambition as a creative capital.”

The winners will be unveiled at the annual Creative Edinburgh awards party, which this year takes place on Fri 24 Nov at CodeBase, Edinburgh. 

The Creative Edinburgh Awards 2017 Shortlist

City Award

"Hidden Door Festival have been shortlisted for their standout 2017 edition in Leith Theatre, GRAS Studio have been recognised for their work on the successful bid to redesign the Ross Bandstand and West Princes Street Gardens, the ‘Boat’ Graphic Novel Series set in a post-apocalyptic flooded Edinburgh have been recognised for its best-seller in Edinburgh status, Fisk have made the shortlist for their Edinburgh New Town inspired furniture designs. Tech incubator CodeBase have been recognised for their contribution to the city’s creative industries and Open Close Collective are shortlisted for their innovative collaborative exhibition that reimagined Old Town closes."

Hidden Door Festival
GRAS Studio
Boat Graphic Novel
Fisk
CodeBase
Open Close Collective

Collaboration Award

"Film-maker Duncan Cowles and residents of North Merchiston Care Home have been nominated here for their collaborative project Directed by North Merchiston, Luke Pell has been nominated for his cross-disciplinary collaborative arts project In The Ink Dark, The Architecture Fringe have been nominated for their 2017 programme and Pyrus Botanicals and Lab Perfumes have been recognised for their current collaboration."

Duncan Cowles and North Merchiston Care Homes
Luke Pell and In The Ink Dark
The Architecture Fringe
Pyrus Botanicals x Lab Perfumes

Creativity Award

"Blueroom Collective are in the running for the Creativity Award for their creative typographic exhibition Nowhere, illustrator Alice Carnegie aka Allolune for her first solo exhibition Bubblegum, illustrator Daniel Labrosse for interactive illustration project Blue People in the Concrete Complex, and Creative Electric are shortlisted for theatre productions Sinking Horses & The Church of Broccoli."

Blueroom Collective – Nowhere
Alice Carnegie – Bubblegum
Daniel Labrosse – Artificial Hearts & Blue People in the Concrete Complex
Creative Electric – Sinking Horses & The Church of Broccoli

Commercial Award

"On the shortlist for the Commercial Award, newly formed strategic creative consultancy CreateFuture are shortlisted, alongside film direction duo Cagoule for their ad production projects for E4 and VisitScotland, and Bright Side Studios have been recognised for their work on the Studio B interactive bank branch project."

Create Future
Cagoule
Bright Side Studios

Independent Award

"Marco Bevilacqua, who illustrates as Want Some Studio, is shortlisted for the Independent Award for his work organising and programming Pissed Modernism, Robbie Walker has been recognised for new Candlemaker Row shop and clothing label Pieute, and choreographer and dance group teacher Ashley Jack is recognised for her creative choreography and valuable work with young people."

Marco Bevilacqua / Want Some Studio
Robbie Walker / Pieute
Ashley Jack

Leadership Award

"In the running for the Leadership Award are Jenny Lindsay for supporting spoken word through Flint & Pitch Productions, Morvern Cunningham for her work on Leith Late and the People & Places Make Leith Better project and Martin Sweeny for his work on setting up the Paradigm Electronic Arts Festival."

Jenny Lindsay
Morvern Cunningham
Martin Sweeny

Social Award

"Edinburgh Soup, an innovative community event that provides a platform and funding for local musicians and social projects, is shortlisted alongside The John Byrne Awards, for their programmes that celebrate, showcase and fund young creatives across artforms, and the Edinburgh Tool Library, for their volunteer programme which supports skills and empowers project leadership and ownership by their volunteer ‘Tooligans’."

Edinburgh Soup
John Byrne Awards
Edinburgh Tool Library

Startup Award

"CareSourcer are shortlisted for their notable success in growing their innovative digital solution for the care sector, 404 Ink are in the running for their achievements in publishing after one year in business, and Custom Lane are recognised for their establishment of a new design & making centre in Leith, transforming a valuable space for the creative sector."

CareSourcer
404 Ink
Custom Lane

Student Award

"The Student Award recognises the talents of Edinburgh’s emerging creative pioneers, with Alannah Cooper shortlisted for her captivating approach to fashion styling and communication, Lauren Nickodemus recognised for her achievements in founding and launching Monstrous Regiment, a crowdfunded publishing project, and Olalla Borrego being shortlisted for her design work and founding of fashion label LiaB."

Alannah Cooper
Lauren Nickodemus
Olalla Borrego

https://www.creative-edinburgh.com