The Sky Arts Awards (formerly The South Bank Show Awards and The South Bank Sky Arts Awards) are an accolade recognising British and Irish achievements in the arts. The awards have been given annually since 1997.
They originated with the long-running British arts programme The South Bank Show and Melvyn Bragg, who has served as patron, host and master of ceremonies of the awards until his retirement from the show in late 2023.
The last South Bank Show Awards ceremony to be broadcast by ITV was in January 2010 and was held at The Dorchester hotel in London. After the network announced that The South Bank Show would be cancelled at the end of the 2009 season, the awards ceremony continued to be broadcast by Sky Arts and was eventually renamed the South Bank Sky Arts Awards. Sky Arts revived The South Bank Show itself in 2012.Singh, Anita (1 December 2012). "The South Bank Show returns to TV". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
In 2024, the ceremony's name was simplified after the final season of The South Bank Show in 2023. Although press releases refer to these as the inaugural Sky Arts Awards, the categories remained unchanged from previous ceremonies, although two new ones were added, namely Poetry and Arts Hero, the latter an award dedicated to celebrating the unsung heroes whose work behind the scenes in the arts sector is invaluable.
Award categories
In addition to awards in each of the individual categories, the Sky Arts Awards also include the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award recognising lifetime contributions to the arts in Britain, and the Times Breakthrough Award recognising outstanding new British talent. The latter being the only category that is decided by a public vote. Past winners of the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award include Julie Walters (2013),Daily Express (12 March 2013). "Julie Walters lands top honour at South Bank Awards". Retrieved 15 March 2013. Michael Frayn (2012),BBC News (6 February 2013). "Olympic art nominated for South Bank award". Retrieved 15 March 2013. Dame Judi Dench (2011),Hemley, Matthew (25 January 2011). . The Stage. Retrieved 15 March 2013. JK Rowling (2008), and The Who (2007).BBC News (29 January 2008). "South Bank awards honour Rowling". Retrieved 15 March 2013.
Between 2004 and 2010, the Arts Council England deciBel Award (latterly the Arts Council England Diversity Award) found a home at the ceremony. Winners included Roy Williams for Fallout (2004), Neil Biswas for Bradford Riots (2007), Daljit Nagra for Look We Have Coming To Dover! (2008), and Julie McNamara (2010).
Later between 2013 and 2016, the ceremony was used as the platform to announce the winners of the Sky Academy Arts Scholarships.
As of the 28th annual ceremony (broadcast September 2024), there were 14 award categories:
2024 awards (28th annual ceremony) With The South Bank Show no longer being broadcast, this year saw the ceremony rebranded to simply The Sky Arts Awards. Shortlisted nominees were announced on 25 July 2024. This year's trophy, in the form of a bronze, was designed by Vic Reeves. A new award for Arts Hero was launched in this year to recognise the unsung heroes who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the arts possible. The shortlist was up drawn from nominees suggested by the arts community. Melvyn Bragg was given a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his sixty years as champion of the arts.
+Presented: 17 September 2024 by Joe Lycett at the Roundhouse, LondonVisual ArtsTheatreDance Winner – Lindsey Mendick: Sh*tfaced Soheila Sokhanvari: Rebel Rebel Steve McQueen: Grenfell Winner – Ryan Calais Cameron (body of work) @sohoplace (body of work) Sherman Theatre (body of work) Winner – Boy Blue (Kenrick "H2O" Sandy & Michael "Mikey J" Asante) - body of work Clod Ensemble: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Michael Keegan-Dolan: How To Be A Dancer in Seventy-Two Thousand Easy Lessons LiteraturePopular MusicOpera Winner – The Bee Sting : Paul Murray Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder : Salman Rushdie Soldier Sailor : Claire Kilroy Winner – The Last Dinner Party: Prelude to Ecstasy Cleo Sol (body of work) Dave & Central Cee: Sprinter Winner – Death in Venice : Welsh National Opera and Nofit State Circus Wozzeck: Royal Opera House English National Opera (body of work)ComedyClassical MusicTV Drama Winner – Fern Brady (body of work) Blindboy Boatclub: The Blindboy Podcast Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Winner – James MacMillan: The Cumnock Tryst 2023 Anoushka Shankar: Chapter II: How Dark it is Before Dawn Richard Blackford: Songs of Nadia Anjuman Winner – Mr Bates vs The Post Office Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland The Sixth CommandmentFilmThe Times Breakthrough AwardPoetry Winner – How To Have Sex All of Us Strangers Occupied City Winner – Aigul Akhmetshina: Opera Ben Goldscheider: Classical Music Ania Magliano: Comedy Jemima Brown: Dance Savanah Leaf: Film Kaliane Bradley: Literature Ella Frears: Poetry Kneecap: Popular Music Adjani Salmon: Television Ben Weatherill: Theatre Claudette Johnson: Visual Arts Winner – Momtaza Mehri: Bad Diaspora Poems Karen McCarthy Woolf and Nathalie Teitler: editors, Mapping the Future anthology Jackie Kay: May DayArts HeroOutstanding Achievement in the Arts Winner – Sally Spencer (Singer): Ex Cathedra and leukaemia nurse at Birmingham Children's Hospital Graham Johnson (Producer): Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol Mikei Hall (Senior Art Handling Technician): Tate Britain, London Yvonne O'Donovan (Administrator): Creu Cymru, Wales Linda Hogg (Head of Customer Services & Front of House): Capital Theatres, Edinburgh Winner – Melvyn Bragg
2023 awards (27th annual ceremony) Shortlisted nominees were announced on 15 June 2023. This year's trophy, in the form of a porcelain cat, was designed by former winner Grayson Perry.
+Presented: 2 July 2023 at the Savoy Hotel, LondonVisual ArtsTheatreDance Winner – Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly in League with the Night (Tate Britain) Hew Locke: The Procession (Tate Britain) Mohammed Sami: The Point 0 (Camden Arts Centre) Winner – Prima Facie: Harold Pinter Theatre Blues for an Alabama Sky: Royal National Theatre A Streetcar Named Desire: Almeida Theatre Winner – Light of Passage: The Royal Ballet Say It Loud: Ballet Black Coppélia: Scottish BalletLiteraturePop MusicOpera Winner – The New Life: Tom Crewe My Name Is Yip: Paddy Crewe The Exhibitionist: Charlotte Mendelson Winner – Raye: My 21st Century Blues Kojey Radical: Reason To Smile Arctic Monkeys: The Car Winner – The Rhinegold: English National Opera Violet: Britten Pears Arts and Music Theatre Wales for the Aldeburgh Festival The Makropulos Affair: Welsh National OperaComedyClassical MusicTV Drama Winner – Big Boys: Roughcut Television / Channel 4 Derry Girls: Hat Trick Productions / Channel 4 Jordan Gray: Is it a Bird? Winner – Gavin Higgins' Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra: The Tredegar Band with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Proms Hive; Sally Beamish: BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Catrin Finch (harp), BBC Proms The Oracle: Manchester Collective & Abel Selaocoe Winner – Happy Valley: Lookout Point TV / BBC One The English: Drama Republic & Eight Rooks for Amazon & BBC Sherwood: House Productions / BBC OneFilmThe Times Breakthrough AwardOutstanding Achievement in the Arts Winner – Aftersun Ali & Ava The Wonder Winner – Dance : Musa Motha Comedy: Leo Reich TV Drama: Leo Woodall Literature: Louise Kennedy Opera: Freddie De Tommaso Classical: Sophie Kauer Visual Art: Rana Begum Theatre: Rosie Sheehy Film: Raine Allen-Miller Pop: Jockstrap Winner – Salman Rushdie (author)
2022 awards (26th annual ceremony) Shortlisted nominees were announced on 30 June 2022.
+Presented: 10 July 2022 at the Savoy Hotel, LondonVisual ArtsTheatreDance Winner — Michael Armitage: Paradise Edict (Royal Academy of Arts) Rachel Whiteread: Internal Objects (Gagosian) Hurvin Anderson: Reverb (Thomas Dane Gallery) Winner – Best of Enemies: A Young Vic and Headlong co-production The Walk: The Walk Productions in association with Handspring Puppet Company and Good Chance Theatre Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club Winner – The Dante Project: Wayne McGregor, The Royal Ballet Then or Now: Ballet Black Starstruck: Scottish BalletLiteraturePop MusicOpera Winner – Love Marriage: Monica Ali Burntcoat: Sarah Hall Open Water: Caleb Azumah Nelson Winner – Little Simz: Sometimes I Might Be Introvert Sam Fender: Seventeen Going Under Self Esteem: Prioritise Pleasure Winner – Rigoletto: Opera North Bluebeard's Castle: Theatre of Sound Wagner's RhineGold: Birmingham Opera CompanyComedyClassical MusicTV Drama Winner – We Are Lady Parts, Channel 4 Starstruck (series 1), BBC One Alma's Not Normal, BBC Two Winner – Huw Watkins' Symphony No.2: The Hallé Dani Howard – Trombone Concerto: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Up for Grabs, Mark-Anthony Turnage: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Barbican Winner – It's A Sin: Red Production Company for Channel 4 and HBO Max in association with All3Media International Time: BBC Studios for BBC One This Is Going To Hurt: Sister / Terrible Productions for BBC OneFilmThe Times Breakthrough AwardOutstanding Achievement in the Arts Winner – Passing After Love Boiling Point Winner – Comedy: Liz Kingsman Classical Music: Dani Howard Dance: Emily Suzuki Film: Emilia Jones Literature: Catriona Ward Opera: Nardus Williams Pop: Wet Leg Theatre: Samuel Creasey TV Drama: Gabrielle Creevy Visual Art: Rachel Jones Winner — Tamara Rojo (for her 10 highly regarded, transformational years as artistic director of English National Ballet)
2021 awards (25th annual ceremony) The 25th annual ceremony marked its return as an in-person event after COVID-19 related restrictions of the previous year with shortlisted nominees announced on 7 June 2021. Two special awards were bestowed this year for innovation in the arts during the pandemic: one for an individual and one for a group / institution.
+Presented: 19 July 2021 at the Savoy Hotel, LondonVisual ArtsTheatreDance Winner – Denzil Forrester: Itchin & Scratchin, Nottingham Contemporary & Spike Island Hold Still: National Portrait Gallery Cold War Steve Meets The Outside World: Medway / Bournemouth / Liverpool / Coventry Winner – Uncle Vanya (2020 film): Harold Pinter Theatre / BBC Four Pass Over: Kiln Theatre Blindness: Donmar Warehouse Winner – Scherzo: The Royal Ballet Lazuli Sky: Birmingham Royal Ballet Final Edition: Richard Alston Dance CompanyLiteraturePop MusicOpera Winner – Hamnet: Maggie O'Farrell Shuggie Bain: Douglas Stuart Rainbow Milk: Paul Mendez Winner – Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia J Hus: Big Conspiracy SAULT: Untitled (Black Is) Winner – L'enfant et les sortilèges, VOPERA Street Scene, Opera North Nixon in China, Scottish OperaComedyClassical MusicTV Drama Winner – Ghosts (series 2), Monumental Television / BBC One Home (series 2): Jantaculum / Channel X / Channel 4 Feel Good: Objective Fiction & Objective Media Group Scotland / Channel 4 / Netflix Winner – Petrenko's Mahler I & II: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Lawrence Power: The Lockdown Commissions Second Ragged Music Festival: Ragged School Museum Winner – I May Destroy You: BBC One / HBO Small Axe: BBC One Industry: Bad Wolf / BBC / HBOFilmThe Times Breakthrough AwardOutstanding Achievement in the Arts Winner – Rocks Saint Maud His House Winner – Theatre: Samuel Bailey Classical Music: Mishka Rushdie Momen Comedy: The Pin Dance: Arielle Smith Film: Nick Rowland Literature: Marina Kemp Opera: Alex Woolf Pop: Arlo Parks TV Drama: Noah Jupe