Theatr Clwyd and business partners celebrate awards success

The success of Theatr Clwyd’s partnerships with business was recognised with four awards at the annual Arts and Business Cymru presentation in Cardiff.

Theatr Clwyd’s innovative work with the community and the strength of its partnerships with business was recognised with a clutch of national awards this week.

The prestigious Hospital Innovations Arts Award, for the arts organisation which has worked most creatively in partnership with business, was presented to the Mold theatre by Dr Phil George, Chair of the Arts Council of Wales.

The judges praised the sustainable partnerships that the theatre has developed, highlighting its relationships with the ScottishPower Foundation, North and Mid Wales Reaching Wider Partnership and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The ScottishPower Foundation, a long term supporter of the theatre, won two awards.

The Arts Business and Young People Award recognised a 13 year partnership with Theatr Clwyd which has delivered innovative arts-based initiatives, including ‘Justice in a Day’ which has now reached over 5,000 school students with a powerful crime prevention message and its spin-off project ‘Connor’s Time’.

The transformative effect of these was cited by the judges in awarding Admiral Business of the Year, a second accolade for the ScottishPower Foundation.

Ann McKechin, Executive Officer and Trustee ScottishPower Foundation, commented;

We are extremely pleased to receive the Arts & Business Wales Business of the Year as well as the Young People category award which recognised the long standing partnership we have had with Theatr Clwyd and their innovative project ‘Justice in a Day’.

Theatr Clwyd’s pioneering work in the vital area of arts and health also won recognition.

The theatre’s partner, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board won the Arts Business and Health Award for funding ‘Arts from the Armchair’, a new theatre-based initiative for people with early onset memory loss.

The award spotlighted the theatre’s vision in championing the restorative power of the arts for the wider community.

The judges agreed that ‘Arts from the Armchair’, a new project which makes a vital connection between the performers and people who make the shows and a group within the community who benefit greatly from the stimulation that theatre offers, is the epitome of an Arts and Health Partnership.

The Arts and Business Awards took place at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, with the evening hosted by Welsh radio and TV personalities Nicola Heywood Thomas and Arfon Haines Davies.

The winners received trophies specially commissioned from the Wales-based artist Ingrid Walker.

Tamara Harvey, Theatr Clwyd’s Artistic Director commented;

These awards recognise the value of our partnerships with ScottishPower Foundation and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and their power to transform people’s lives.

We are particularly proud of the ways in which Theatr Clwyd has fostered innovative and highly productive creative relationships with many different groups to enable true engagement with all our community.