Flagship Celebration Confirmed
The date and venue for the 2024 Arts & Business (A&B) Cymru Awards has been confirmed. The Welsh charity is delighted to announce that its flagship event will take place for the first time at ICC Wales on Thursday 4 July. The Awards exist to encourage, acknowledge and celebrate exemplary partnerships between the private sector and the arts across Wales.
The high-profile ceremony and dinner is made possible by a range of key A&B Cymru partners. As Principal Sponsor of the Awards for a 13th consecutive year, global energy company Valero heads an impressive list of supporters.
The category partners in 2024 are Cardiff & Vale Health Charity, Grant Stephens Family Law, Hodge Foundation, Sony UK Technology Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Wales & West Utilities, The Waterloo Foundation and Wind2.
A&B Cymru also works with a range of event partners to ensure the success of the evening. They are Entertainment Sponsor, University of South Wales, Media Partner Orchard, Venue Partner, ICC Wales, Design Partner Ubiquity, as well as drinks partners Penderyn Distillery and Tŷ Nant.
This year’s Awards received a record number of nominations and the judges will meet in April to decide on the winners of the 10 categories. The independent panel is drawn from a range of sectors and have expertise in practical art forms, sponsorship and the aims of the private sector. The individuals who will judge the business partnership categories are Donna Ali, Director of BE.Xcellence; Eversheds Sutherland’s Managing Partner, Tom Bray; Freelance Arts Producer Jason Camilleri; Karen Hodge, Trustee of the Hodge Foundation and Stephen Thornton, Public Affairs Manager at Valero.
The Adviser of the Year will be judged by three key supporters of A&B Cymru’s Professional Development Programmes. They are Jonathan Chitty, Finance Director at the Port of Milford Haven, Managing Director of Grant Stephens Family Law, Grant Stephens and Clare Williams, Freelance Arts Consultant and Visual Artist.
The successful individuals and companies will once again receive trophies specially commissioned for the ceremony. They will be designed and made by Bethesda based artist Rhiannon Gwyn, whose work encapsulates the rugged beauty of her home landscape by using the physical characteristics of Welsh slate and other locally sourced materials. The ceramic trophies she has designed for A&B Cymru will be painted with a glaze made from gorse flower collected and burned on the Carneddau mountains for conservation reasons and so each trophy will literally contain a unique piece of the Welsh landscape.
A&B Cymru’s Chief Executive, Rachel Jones, said: In the midst of the current challenging financial climate, A&B Cymru has been astounded by the number of high-quality creative partnerships nominated for this year’s Awards. We firmly believe that it is more important than ever to celebrate and reward the incredible work of the arts and the vision of the businesses supporting them. Partnerships with the private sector play a crucial role in helping the arts to make a tangible contribution to the health and well-being of our nation. The Awards is the highlight of A&B Cymru’s year and we look forward to rewarding the very best in cross-sector collaboration at our new partner venue, ICC Wales.
Priority booking for seats and advertising at the 2024 A&B Cymru Awards will open on Monday 22 April.