Welcome to the Epic Awards

We've had lots of excellent entries to this year's Epic Awards! Below are all the shortlisted English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh entries. The People's Choice award was given to a group from each nation voted for by you! Voting has now closed and we can reveal the People's Choice champions: England - Peterborough Male Voice Choir. Ireland - Ballymena Arts Partnership. Scotland - Castletown Hertitage Society. Wales - Third Floor Gallery.
Each winning group will receive a free subscription to our new Running Your Group online resources. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who voted!

  • Rattlejag Morris

  • Ensuring local dances like sword, bacca pipe and broom dances are enjoyed and valued as part of the region's heritage.
  • View this entry
  • 695

  • Undercurrents

  • The Sol Cinema is the world's smallest solar-powered cinema, bringing short films to remote locations.
  • View this entry
  • 352

  • Ballymena Arts Partnership

  • They set up a range of showcase clubs encompassing music, film, comedy and rehearsed readings to promote community access to art.
  • View this entry
  • 3568

  • Buddy Beat

  • Filmed, edited and produced a video to tell the story of recovery from mental illness, with some surprising results!
  • View this entry
  • 394

  • City of Derry Guitar Festival

  • The group used multimedia and social networks to engage more people in a range of festival activities.
  • View this entry
  • 373

  • Castletown Heritage Society

  • Re-staging the 1911 ‘Edwardian Concert’ in Castletown’s Drill Hall 100 years later, engaging much of the local community.
  • View this entry
  • 6019

  • Unanima Theatre

  • Young people and adults with learning disabilities created a piece of theatre entitled 'Everyday People'.
  • View this entry
  • 13526

  • SambaBrecon

  • The group bring the community together through Afro Brazilian Percussion workshops and performances.
  • View this entry
  • 394

  • Fishguard Arts Society

  • Members of the Society were invited to produce visual work that was a response to a poem written by one of 6 poet members.
  • View this entry
  • 131

  • Galway Community Circus

  • The circus enables young people from diverse backgrounds to learn new skills, have fun together and grow in confidence.
  • View this entry
  • 304

  • Friends of the Caird Hall Organ

  • Held a sponsored ‘Organathon’ in Dundee’s Caird Hall, reaching an audience of over 400, with players ranging in age from 15 to over 70.
  • View this entry
  • 188

  • Peterborough Male Voice Choir

  • Bringing choral singing to more people in the area through their innovative 'New Directions' programme of events.
  • View this entry
  • 18102

  • Stewarton Drama Group

  • Worked in partnership to raise £6000 for the Ayrshire Hospice through ticket money and raffles at a new summer production.
  • View this entry
  • 4434

  • DART Gallery

  • The 'Creative Community' initiative tapped into Darwen's artistic potential and is helping people in the area engage with the arts.
  • View this entry
  • 130

  • Third Floor Gallery

  • The gallery uses innovative exhibition methods to bring a range of contemporary photography to Cardiff.
  • View this entry
  • 478

  • Phizzfest

  • The festival celerates the artistic richness of Phibsborough through an innovative programme of events in community locations.
  • View this entry
  • 271

  • Sound Minds

  • 'The Moondance' showcased music and filmmaking achievements and raised awareness of mental health issues.
  • View this entry
  • 220

  • Gwanwyn Festival

  • Promoting the wellbeing of older people through creative and cultural activity such as music, dance, art and writing.
  • View this entry
  • 147

  • Helium Festival

  • Raising money for charity, fostering community spirit and boosting the local economy with this cross-artform celebration.
  • View this entry
  • 152

  • Powfoot Writers

  • Formed a creative writing group in Powfoot, Dumfries & Galloway, encouraging new writers and producing a high quality publication.
  • View this entry
  • 162

  • West Fife Villages

  • The acquisition of some old display boards led to an annual exhibition with over 600 exhibits and 400 visitors!
  • View this entry
  • 207

  • Back to Books

  • The group ran a number of community drawing and making events to enable people to learn new skills and make friends.
  • View this entry
  • 2408

  • Wheelworks

  • Young people from East Timor and Lithuania created a film called 'Bull Dance' to explore the issue of bullying and promote respect.
  • View this entry
  • 615

  • Apsara Arts

  • Young people responded to the riots by bringing a feel-good factor back to the neighbourhood with the 'We Love Croydon' project.
  • View this entry
  • 100

  • Blinc Digital

  • Worked with 18 artists to produce a multi-media event combining a mix of live theatre, music and words at Conwy Castle.
  • View this entry
  • 200

  • Music Theatre 4 Youth

  • The group's Weekend Academy gives young people musical theatre tuition as well as helping them develop their social skills.
  • View this entry
  • 237

Eye on the prize ...

    • Annual Membership of Arts Development UK

    • Each winning group will receive annual membership of Arts Development UK, worth £165. Membership benefits include:

      • Skills development through training and knowledge exchange
      • Membership of a national network of regional groups
      • Major annual conference and national seminar programme
      • Web-based resources and on-line forum
      • Ezine and Arts At The Heart magazine

      Arts Development UK is a professional association working to develop the arts in local communities.

      Arts Development UK website

    • GreatArt gift vouchers worth up to £250

      • The winner of each of the four categories gets £250 worth of gift vouchers to be redeemed at GreatArt 
      • The runner up of each of the four categories gets £100 worth of gift vouchers to be redeemed at GreatArt

      GreatArt has the UK's largest range of art materials - www.greatart.co.uk

      There's something for everyone, even if you're not a visual arts or crafts group. Bands, choirs and dancers can buy paper/paints etc to make posters and publicity materials or use the vouchers to buy something from their range of office supplies.

    • Raised profile for your group

    • A huge benefit of winning an Epic Award is the way it will raise your group's profile and enable you to shine more brightly on a funding application. Tom Glynn from UC Crew, one of last year's winners, said:

      "UC Crew really enjoyed being part of the Epic Awards scheme. It was a great opportunity to meet like minded people, find out what was going on in the world of UK Politics and Arts & Culture Sector and go to the House of Lords. The Award has gave us a badge to show how professional we are, attract funding and open new doors to opportunities."

    • Cash prizes

    • There will be £125 cash for each winner.

    • Training

    • The England winner will receive a place on a People’s Voice Media course and £100 travel expenses.

      People's Voice Media are a not for profit community development organisation working across the UK and Europe specialising in using social media to:

      • support people to have a voice, challenge perceptions and describe their own reality;
      • encourage people to connect, share their experiences and successes with each other and so contribute to raising community and individual aspiration.

      Find out more at the People's Voice Media website.

    • Mentoring

    • The England winner will receive 5 hours mentoring on Governance / organisational structure / HR / volunteering with an expert consultant.

    • Pair of tickets to a Twisted Thread show

    • The England winner will receive a pair of tickets to attend the biggest knitting, stitching, craft show in the UK. There’s a choice of attending the show at Olympia, London in March 2012 or Harrogate in November 2012. The show offers a great visitor experience for creative craftspeople who appreciate textile crafts combining exhibitions, workshops, shopping, lectures and competitions. For more details go to www.twistedthread.com.

Thanks to our sponsors

The Epic Awards wouldn't be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, so a big thank you to everyone who has contributed prizes, finances, time and expertise to make it happen!