The Northern Cultural Innovation Awards are being hosted for the third time by charity Curious Minds.
Curious Minds aims to shine a light on best practice, innovation and activism in creative and cultural education across northern England.
Sally Gorton, head of communications for Curious Minds, said: “Curious Minds’ ambition for the Northern Cultural Education Awards is that it helps to raise the status of cultural education as an important and necessary area of specialist work.”
Polly Ives is founder and artistic director of the charity Concerteenies, which connects musicians with children and babies around Sheffield.
Ms Ives was nominated by an audience member of one of her events in the ‘Grassroots Awards: Fearless Freelancer’ category, and Concerteenies is a finalist in the ‘Hearts and Mind Award’.
Ms Ives said: “It’s a real honour to get to the final of these awards, and a privilege to be able to showcase the work that we do. To be recognised in such a prestigious award will be and has already been really helpful to us, to be able to share the work that we do and help us to spread the joy of music.”
Curious Minds recognises that children who grow up in the North are more likely to live in poverty than children who live in the rest of England.
They also highlight that arts funding is low in state schools, creating disparities between state schooled and privately educated children.
Ms Gorton said: “In the post-pandemic era, with a cost-of-living squeeze, the participation gap is getting bigger and, as ever, it’s the poorest children who get the rawest deal.”
Ms Ives also said: “Music should be such a part of everybody’s everyday life.
“Just empowering parents and teachers to engage their children with more music to support their wellbeing but also their all-round development.”
There have been over 150 award entries across eight categories this year.
Ms Ives said: “If we were to win, the opportunity to meet other people who work in the cultural education scene in the North is really important for us. We know that musicians often can’t find enough work in Sheffield or in the north, and we need to level up that opportunity across the north for musicians and educators.
Concerteenies is working with Sheffield City Council to level up access to cultural education and is in discussion with the South Yorkshire Mayor’s office about an early years music strategy for the whole of South Yorkshire.
Ms Ives said: “I think it’s a really exciting time for Sheffield. We want to gear children up so they’re ready for life, not ready for school.”
The awards are taking place on 24 May. Click here for more information.