Trustmarque sponsors the Manchester Culture awards 2023
The winners of the prestigious Manchester Culture Awards 2023 were announced last week (4 December) at a special awards ceremony held at the city’s newest cultural venue, Aviva Studios.
First launched in 2018 by the city council, this year’s event featured more than 400 nominations, chosen by the public and arts professionals, for awards spanning twelve categories including best event, best exhibition and young creative of the year. There were also three special recognition awards to recognise the cultural contributions three individuals have made in Manchester over the years.
This year, we were proud to sponsor the Manchester Culture Award for the Promotion of Equality and Social Justice. The winners on the night were the pupils at Stanley Grove Primary Academy, who were joined on stage by Trustmarque’s Chief Revenue Officer, Donavan Hutchinson. Trustmarque is honoured to sponsor this award category to celebrate those making change and creating opportunities for equality and diversity to thrive across the vibrant city. Today we recognise our part in the future of the UK’s society more than ever before.
Speaking at the event, Donavan said:
“I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been part of the Manchester Culture Awards, and to present Stanley Grove Primary Academy with their award for ‘Happy, Safe and Free’. The project involved over 10,000 young people creating paper artwork to understand refugees. Well done to all other nominees, finalists, and winners of these awards! You all are winners and you all have done an incredible job in showcasing the true talent that Manchester brings to the UK. Thank you for your partnership, Manchester City Council.”
Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council said:
“Manchester is a city that literally mops up culture in all its many forms and its audiences positively embrace every cultural and artistic opportunity that comes their way. Once again, the sheer number and breadth of nominations made shows just what an incredible cultural scene we have in Manchester and just how much talent, potential and excitement about culture there is here. “We’re a city that champions culture and the arts and that recognises both the point and the value of creativity. They deliver real social and economic benefits to the whole city, bringing visitors and new business to the city and play a massive part in making Manchester the vibrant, exciting and world-class city it is.”
About the Happy, Safe, Free project
Happy, Safe and Free was a yearlong, city-wide art project, exploring empathy and understanding for refugees through creativity. It has been designed for Manchester’s Year of the Child and Young People 2022 by Emma Martin, assisted by Judy Donnelly.
Over 10,000 school students across the city have been making artworks expressing what makes them ‘happy’, ‘safe’ and ‘free’. They then destroyed their artworks, shedding each piece to illustrate the loss of the basic human needs of happiness, safety, and freedom. The shredded artworks were then display as ‘seas’ with origami boats floating on top to symbolise the dangerous journeys migrants and refugees are forced to make to find a place of sanctuary.
About Trustmarque
We are committed to forging inclusive, sustainable and meaningful connections in the communities we serve. We can all do more, and we are working towards targets to make change happen. Trustmarque is Manchester City Council’s preferred Microsoft partner, and we support the council’s mission of ensuring communities thrive, making them great places to live and work. Working closely with the council, we strive to deliver the value of technology and identify savings, to bring real-life impact to residents.
