News / Arts
Bristol venues scoop Family Arts Awards
Inclusivity, collaboration and creativity proved a winning combination for five Bristol venues that beat off stiff national competition to gain recognition in the Family Arts Awards.
St George’s came up trumps once again, securing the titles of ‘best family welcome’ and ‘best age-friendly event’ at a ceremony designed to promote diversification of the cultural sector and make live music, theatre and arts accessible and enjoyable to all.
A quartet comprising the Arnolfini, Watershed, Architecture Centre and Children’s Scrapstore won the coveted ‘best family event’ for their collaboration on the Inventors Laboratory – the finale event to the Bristol Family Arts Festival 2016.
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Around 800 organisations and 4,000 events from across the UK were in the running for just 10 accolades granted by the organisers of the Creative Family Arts Festival at an awards ceremony hosted in Circomedia on Tuesday.
This is the second time St George’s has received recognition for its work with families and children with special needs.
The venue’s education manager Laura Tanner said: “At the root of all of St George’s programming for children and families is our belief in the power and the value of live music for everyone.
“Music is an inclusive language that speaks to all of us, with the ability to engage, inspire and unite diverse people as they share in unique and magical experiences.”
St George’s was also a host venue for the Get Creative Family Arts Conference on Tuesday, March 15.
The Inventors Laboratory – hosted in October 2016 by the Watershed, Architecture Centre, Children’s Scrapstore and Arolfini – saw the auditorium of the latter transformed into a multi-sensory creative testing ground for hundreds of young inventors.
Amy Harrison, head of learning and participation at the Architecture Centre, said: “Much of the arts and cultural provision of Bristol only directly benefits certain communities and those located close to the city centre. Through Family Art Festival outreach events partnerships, we are able to creatively engage with a more diverse family audience across the city, helping to make the city’s cultural offer more accessible.”
Voted for by a panel of expert judges from the arts sector, the awards recognise the “outstanding” events that took place as part of the 2016 Festival and the exemplary family-friendly organisations and venues that participated.
Read more: Bristol Family Arts Festival is back
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