Proud winner of the St Helens Creative Arts Award (Professional Practice) is Claire Weetman, in recognition of her work locally and regionally in the past year, including exhibitions at home and abroad and commissions for clients including Liverpool Biennial. Claire received her award on a glittering evening at St Helens town hall from BAFTA winning screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst and performer Stephanie Davis from BBC’s Over the Rainbow.

Commiserations go to fellow short-listed nominees Stephen Ball, whose upcoming Soapbox event in St Helens looks to be an exciting addition to his work with Don’t Think Twice collective, and Tony Garner whose evocative industrial landscapes have won him awards at the annual St Helens Open art competition.

The complete list of award winners is as follows;

St Helens Creative Arts Award (Professional Practice)
Claire Weetman – Artist

St Helens Voluntary Arts Sector Award (Group/Organisation)
Dual Diagnosis – Drama Group

St Helens Voluntary Arts Sector Award (Individual)
Enid Pennington – Drama Practitioner

St Helens Arts Development Award
MASH Gallery – For the creation of new art space

St Helens Heritage Award
St Helens Townships Family History Society – For their work in local history

St Helens Sporting Volunteer Award
John Fairhurst – Junior Football

St Helens Sports Coach of the Year Award
Peter Blood – Judo

St Helens Sporting Hero Award
Harold Swift MBE – Rugby League

St Helens Sports Club of the Year Award
Seneley and Garswood Juniors Football Club

St Helens Cultural Event Award
UC Crew for ‘International Break-Dancing competition the Northern Hordes’

St Helens Special Award for Services to Culture
Roy Jones – Sport

Posthumous Award
Peter Jackson