Announcing our Finalists
Our 25 judges, drawn from across the arts, cultural, and education sectors, reviewed more than 250 submissions across all 10 award categories. We're excited to announce the 2026 Finalists, who will be celebrated at our Awards event on Wednesday 21st October at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.
Celebrating the 2026 finalists
The One To Watch Award
- Annabelle Lee, Concrete Youth
- Ayman Juwairiyyah Sabir, Samajh My Gal
- Ella Dufton, Creative Blackpool and Freelancer
- Liberty Griffin, Prestfelde School / Shrewsbury Colleges Group
- Samridhi Saini, FolkDeep
- Sarah Wilson, Kirklees Museums and Galleries
- Tessa Chalmers, Jam Jar Theatre Company & The Arts Theatre
The Arts Leadership in Education Award
- Byrchall High School
- Castlebrae Community Campus
- Furness Sixth Form College
- LET Education Trust
- Stapleford Community Primary School
- Wistaston Academy
The Innovators in Engagement Award
- Common/Wealth
- Concrete Youth
- National Youth Theatre
- OmniMusic
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Stacked Wonky
- Turner Sims, University of Southampton
- West of England Music and Arts
- Zest
The Inspirational Local Partnership Award
- Building Young Brixton
- Durham University; Blackhall Community Centre; Auckland Youth and Community Centre; Teesdale Community Resource (TCR) Hub
- M6 Theatre and Barnardo’s
- MADE - Manchester's Cultural Education Partnership
- Project Parr
- Salford CEP
- Signal Festival
- Unseen Arts Grimsby C.I.C. and The Culture House
The Mighty Roots Award
- dot-art Services CIC
- Neuroverse Community CIC
- Toddington Town Development Band
- Tracing Steps Theatre & Dance Company
- Unseen Arts Grimsby C.I.C.
- We Make Culture
The Young Arts Activism Award
- Authoring Our Own Stories by Partnership for Young London working inconjunction with Youth Focus North West, Youth Focus South West and Yorkshire and Humber Regional Youth Work Unit
- Creative Fusion and Blackpool LCEP
- Spark’s (Wakefield LCEP) Youth Arts Ambassadors’ Black to Green project, supported by staff at the National Coal Mining Museum England and Yew Tree Arts
- The Day One Project by Youth Voice and Influence Service (Community Youth Services at Sheffield City Council)
- The Escape2Make Youth Board
- The National Youth Advisory Board (NYAB) at Chichester Festival Theatre
- Youth Eco Fashion Group at 20–21 Visual Arts Centre
The Fearless Freelancer Award
- Hannah Desai
- Jamie-Lee Wainman
- Jenny Baldwin
- Jodie Smith
- Naseem Darbey
- Ndidi Nkwopara
- Rebecca Hulbert
- Sarah Gough
The Power In Practice Award
- Battersea Arts Centre
- National Saturday Club (The Saturday Club Trust)
- North East Museums
- Roundhouse
- Royal Ballet and Opera
- The Lowry
The Spark The Change Award
- 20 Stories High
- Bradford Culture Company
- Breaking Barriers Rochdale
- Byrchall High School
- Concerteenies
- International Slavery Museum
- Rambert in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and NHS Greater Manchester
- Turtle Key Arts
- Unseen Arts Grimsby C.I.C. in partnership with CreateNEL and Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre
The Changemaker Award
We do not announce a shortlist for this category; the winner will be announced live at the event.
Tickets are available!
You can now book your place to join us at this year's National Arts and Cultural Education Awards 2026. This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of Arts Council England. Tickets are now available - don't miss out.
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The National Arts and Cultural Education Awards 2026
Celebrating arts, culture and creativity for young people, in and out of school.
For everyone
Wed 21 Oct
13:00
-
18:00