Creative Lives People’s Choice Award 2021: Which two Glasgow groups have been nominated?

Two organisations in Glasgow have been nominated for The People’s Choice Award at the Creative Lives Awards.

The Survivors Art Community and Overdrive Dance Company have been nominated along with 29 other groups in the UK for the award, and the judges will give an award to one group from England, Scotland, Ireland/ Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Survivors Arts Community, a group community project which was created to address isolation among survivors of sexual abuse or domestic violence during the pandemic, is one of the groups nominated.

Angie Spoto, who is involved with the community project, said: “The Survivor Arts Community is thrilled to be shortlisted for the Creative Lives Awards.

“Our project, Freehand, which we held virtually during the pandemic was our first visual arts project that was held completely online.

“We sent participants materials packs with all the supplies they needed to attend the series of illustration workshops, and at the end, we held a successful virtual launch of the exhibition, featuring the work of our participants as well as commissioned work from Glasgow-based artists.”

Angie added: “Freehand, which was open to female survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault, was held at a time that felt particularly important - when all of us, survivors in particular, were experiencing greater isolation and mental health challenges.

“The Survivor Arts Community is a really small team and completely volunteer-run, so it’s lovely that we’ve been shortlisted for the Awards and given the chance to increase awareness about what we do and who we support.”

Hayley Earlam who is co-director of Overdrive said: “We’re delighted to be nominated for the Creative Lives Awards.

“This nomination is a celebration of the commitment and dedication of the young people from Overdrive Dance Company.

“During Covid-19, their creativity to think outside the box, their compassion for one another, and their resilience to continue doing what they love deserves to be celebrated.”

Voting is open until 31 January 2022

To vote for The Survivors Art Community, click here

To vote for Overdrive, visit this link