Artz Awards Night 2021

About the Town was delighted to be invited to the Artz Annual Awards Night back in January and be asked to cover this story within our magazine exclusively.  

What was extra special about this event was that not only did it mark their 10th anniversary of the Artz Awards, but it was the first opportunity since before the pandemic for everyone to be able to get back together in person, dress up, and celebrate the achievements of the students throughout the year. 

This prestigious event was set at the DW Stadium in Wigan. As I walked in, the place was brimming with happy, smiley faces from one end of the room to the other. Students beamed in anticipation of the exciting evening ahead. Glitz, glamour, hairspray, and glitter could be seen in every corner, but the underlying sense of community, family, and friendship was the most prominent feeling that went deep into my core, particularly so after speaking with some of the parents, aunties, and uncles of some of these students, who have faced very challenging times personally. It was clear from these conversations that Artz has managed to build a strong community where students feel safe, cared about, and supported. 

Mark Ashton, director of Artz, began the evening by telling an inspiring story of the origin of Artz, the trials and tribulations that came in those early days, and even those more recent days where the organisation had to navigate through some of the toughest of challenges.  

Mark spoke proudly about how the strength of his team, and his leadership of that team, got them through these times and how much they have learned along the way in order to do things better in the future.

Students were then presented with their awards and given the recognition they clearly deserved with a room full of claps and cheers.

It was a beautiful night of witnessing the staff and students of Artz coming together to demonstrate how they collectively have created something truly remarkable.

I caught up with Mark to get his reflections on the event, here’s what he had to say;

“10 years ago we had an ambition to create a sustainable community enterprise, that could offer a range of high quality arts provision for all. The fact that we are now celebrating our 10 year anniversary is proof that that our idea was a good one. As we look ahead to the next 10 years, we must continue to use the power of the arts to unlock the potential of young people and communities across the country. Now more than ever we need opportunities that encourage creative thinking, communication and collaboration and I see our organisation at the very centre of this.” – Mark Ashton, Artz Diector