The Creative Lives Awards celebrate the creative groups that enhance people's lives in villages, towns, and cities across the UK and Ireland. Since 2010, we've invited community-led groups to share their activities and achievements, so that we can give you a well-deserved moment in the spotlight.
Our Award winners all use creativity to bring people together. Groups might take part in singing, dancing, painting, crafting, performing, playing music, or any other creative activity. All of them provide vital opportunities for people to find community, express their creativity, make friends, learn new skills, boost their wellbeing - and have fun together!
Please read our rules and guidelines, and check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), before you start filling out your application form.
You can either complete your application form online, or by downloading the form and returning it to us via email at [email protected].
The closing date for applications is 11.59pm on Monday 13 May 2024.
Please get in touch at [email protected] if you have any further questions, if you need further support completing your application, or if you need any of the information or forms in a different format. Good luck!
Want to learn more about the Creative Lives Awards? You can read about some of our previous winners below and the wonderful work they do, or check out a list of our recent winners here. We hope they will inspire you to tell us all about your group!
Drawn from across England, Ireland/N.Ireland, Scotland and Wales, here are the 31 groups and projects shortlisted for this year's Creative Lives Awards (formerly the Epic Awards). This year we looked for resilience, imagination and innovation, predominantly carried out by volunteers, in a bid to stay creative during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thank you for helping us choose the winner of this year's People's Choice Award by casting your vote. Voting is now closed. Results were announced on 1 March at a live ceremony in Coventry Cathedral. You can read all about the winners here.
Choir that continued meeting online, inviting others to join in the fun Read more
Centre for people with disabilities that helped members and volunteers create together online Read more
Songwriting group that supported and encouraged women and non-binary people to connect and create Read more
Grassroots festival that gives local people a civic voice Read more
Creative group that brought a disused hospital to life during lockdown Read more
Volunteer-run festival that delivered virtual variety shows and singalongs for care homes Read more
Group that delivered illustration workshops for survivors of sexual abuse Read more
Multi-art project that fired imagination and enthusiasm in this Welsh seaside town Read more
Multicultural friendship group for women that won the 2021 Award for Celebrating Diversity Read more
London-based community garden used as a place to empower, heal, connect, grow and create. Read more
Dance group aiding addiction recovery that stayed connected during lockdown Read more
Volunteer effort that provided vital support and creative fun for people with learning difficulties Read more
Collective that created public art displays with huge community involvement Read more
Poetry collective that launched new projects to stay connected and creative Read more
Group that found new and accessible ways to connect people through poetry during lockdown Read more
Group that created a night of music and creativity for the whole community Read more
Craft group that moved online to ease isolation and connect further afield Read more
Writing groups that continued to help people develop, share and perform their work. Read more
Volunteer-run venture providing a platform for creative women in North Wales Read more
Youth group that designed and distributed creative packs for local children Read more
Youth-led theatre group that staged online cabarets Read more
Photography group that documented the lockdown experiences of their community Read more
Inclusive, disabled-led art group that moved its weekly sessions online Read more
Organisation who helped vulnerable children and young people access art therapy Read more
Dance film project that created a safe space to create and share Read more
Dance group for boys and young men that re-worked a planned show into a film Read more
Community choir for those affected by cancer that moved online Read more