The charity behind the Keighley Arts and Film Festival and this year’s K-Town Shopper event has been shortlisted in national awards run by the New Statesman magazine.
Keighley Creative is one of five organisations and companies vying for an accolade for having a positive impact on the High Street.
Organisers of the inaugural New Statesman Positive Impact Awards say they celebrate the work done by individuals and organisations to create real lasting change.
Broadcaster Andrew Marr, the New Statesman’s political editor, is among judges who will make the final decision on who will gain the trophy. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in central London in December.
The Keighley charity is a finalist in the magazine’s Positive Impact on the High Street award. Others on the list are Haven For Others, Iceland, Swoop and the Co-op/Hubbub.
Keighley Creative has been based for the past few years in the former Co-operative and Beales store on Hanover Street, hosting exhibitions, participatory events and the annual Keighley Arts and Film Festival. It also provides studio space for creatives and works on educational projects with communities, Keighley College and local schools.
In May this year, the organisation hosted K-Town Shopper, a weekend of events transforming the town centre with retro retail experiences delivered by local artists.
Keighley Creative also transformed vacant retail units in the Airedale Shopping Centre and Royal Arcade into pop-up Drawing Boxes for visitors to create their own art on the walls of the empty shops during Keighley Arts and Film Festival. Street entertainers, buskers, spoken word performers, comedians and other artists joined in three days of fun and culture, livening up the town centre. A multi-faith Peace Meal and a Sufi music performance by a top Qawwali group enabled Keighley’s different communities to socialise together.
The charity has secured funding from the government’s Towns Fund to buy and convert a town-centre building as its base.
Keighley Creative chair Susan Mendoza said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for these inaugural awards. This highlights the work of Keighley Creative to not only support local artists and engage our communities but also make a positive change to our town, the High Street and indeed all the other areas of Keighley.”
The New Stateman awards are being staged for the first time this year. As well as the Positive Impact on the High Street Award, there are categories for energy, transport, environment, technology, finance and healthcare. The magazine is also running editorial recognition awards in local and national government, society, work, politics in the House of Commons and the Lords, and a special award for leadership in a crisis.
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