Creative Lives AwardsCelebrating the achievements of community-led creative groups 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 them 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! The 2024 Creative Lives Awards shortlist is now online. Read all about them and vote for your favourite! A Celebration of Humanity 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! GRS Song Circle GRS Song Circle was born out of a songwriting workshop run by Girls’ Rock School Edinburgh. The attendees – women and non-binary people – felt energised by the creative space, so a monthly meet-up was arrange. This changed to bi-weekly during the pandemic, as participants felt the need to connect more regularly, support each other and use their creativity to process how they were feeling through songwriting. One of the aims of the group is to provide a safe space to encourage creativity and give feedback in a supportive way. The group is about enhancing the feeling of community among women and gender non-conforming songwriters, and encouraging individual creative development as part of a collective. It’s completely self-funded, with any fees from performances used to buy instruments, rent studio space or host social events. Due to moving to an online setting, the group was able to engage with women who had previously been excluded by distance or circumstance. People with childcare responsibilities were more able to find the time to participate online, as did members with chronic illness. This is something they are considering keeping as they move forward. "During the pandemic, these workshops have been a lifeline for me. To have a group of people that I can share my challenges and develop my creative process with is priceless. No matter how I feel when I join the workshop, I always feel uplifted by the end." GRS Song Circle participant Learn more about GRS Song Circle Website Twitter Facebook Vote for this group Create your own user feedback survey Manage Cookie Preferences