Aviva Studios hosted the ceremony for the Manchester Culture Awards, the city council's celebration of arts and culture, on 4 December 2023, with more than 400 nominations from the public, arts professionals and others in twelve categories.
The awards were launched by Manchester City Council in 2018, the year that the Manchester Theatre Awards ended. While these awards take a wider look at arts and culture in the region, some of the recipients are from the world of theatre.
The Best Business Partnership went to the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, a partnership between Manchester property company Bruntwood and the Royal Exchange Theatre that has been running biennially since 2005, based on the Exchange's earlier and equally successful Mobil Playwriting Competition. Best Performance did not go to any of the larger city-centre theatres but to Z-arts in Hulme for a three-day run of Elayne Ogbeta's play for children Grandad Anansi, co-produced with London's Half Moon Theatre.
It was back to the Royal Exchange, however, for the Made in Manchester Award, which went to Cold Chips and Pick N Mix by Sonia Jalay, described as a "love letter to Cheetham Hill" and developed with people from that area with a cast of both professional actors and local residents, which was performed twice in the Exchange's newest mobile theatre, the Den.
The full list of winners is:
- Best Business Partnership The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting
- Best Exhibition South Asia Gallery, Manchester Museum
- Best Event Black Gold Arts x Whitworth Takeover
- Best Performance Grandad Anansi, Z-arts
- Independent Creative of the Year Abel Selaocoe
- Promotion of Culture & Education Pushing Boundaries, Community Arts North West and Curious Minds
- Promotion of Environmental Sustainability The History of Climate Change, Manchester Histories Festival 2022
- Promotion of Equality & Social Justice Stanley Grove Primary Academy
- Promotion of Health & Wellbeing (x 2 awards are being made in this category) Create+ Lime Arts
- Promotion of Health & Wellbeing String of Hearts
- Promotion of Talent & Leadership Factory Sounds, Factory International
- The Made in Manchester Award Cold Chips and Pick N Mix by Sonia Jalay, Royal Exchange Theatre
- The Manchester People's Culture Award Qaisra Shahraz MBE
- Young Creative of the Year Sally Hirst
- Special Recognition Award John Summers OBE and Sir Mark Elder, Halle
- Special Recognition Award SuAndi OBE