The CHWA Awards 2025 took place on 23rd April 2025. A recording of the event will soon be available on our You Tube Channel.
Thank you to everyone who applied or nominated people for the CHWA Awards 2025. The awards are a chance for us to reflect, celebrate and champion the fantastic work going on across the country. It was a privilege to see the sheer variety and standard of work coming in this year.
We're pleased to announce the winners below. Each winner will receive a bespoke physical award, designed and made by artist Ric Raithby.
Collective Power Award, in partnership with Ideas Alliance and The Lived Experience Network
Collective Power Award Shortlist
Collective Power Award, in partnership with Ideas Alliance and The Lived Experience Network
Healthy People and Planet Award, in partnership with The Happy Museum and Culture Declares Emergency
WINNER: House of Fairy Tales, The Great Imagining
Healthy People and Planet Shortlist
Healthy People and Planet Award, in partnership with The Happy Museum and Culture Declares Emergency
Practising Well Award, in partnership with Nicola Naismith
WINNER - Supporting Freelancers: Tracy Breathnach and team for How Ya Doing?
Tracy has designed and led the How Ya Doing? artist wellbeing programme since 2019. The programme has directly increased wellbeing for over 200 artists working in participatory settings across Wales. Tracy has taken this a step further to consider how arts organisations can change the culture around wellbeing, so that wellbeing is put at the centre of how they approach the work. Working with a team of freelance trainers, this has culminated in a new 2-day training course in Reflective Practice Facilitation for 13 creative practitioners to deliver reflective practice to support artists’ wellbeing, and a 1-day training course for organisations to develop their ‘Strategies for Wellbeing.'
"This project stood out for the impressive levels of consultation and how the project has grown over time and been shaped by the artists feedback. The areas of impact were clear on both individual and organisational/structural levels, and the panel felt it was doing vital work in changing the landscape of creative health in Wales. This projects responsiveness, commitment to learning and growth, and impact on the wider sector all helped demonstrate a person-centred and sustainable approach."
WINNER - Supporting Staff: Next Door But One
Next Door But One pride themselves on inclusive practice. They cannot make inclusive participatory arts provisions for their community if they don’t create equitably inclusive practices that support the team to bring their full selves into work. These include: • A Wellbeing Officer on every project. • Access Requirement Forms provided at contracting • Access Budget: to provide acute support that benefits the team team; emergency childcare, extra travel support to help fatigue conditions etc • Proactive Flexible Working: annualized hours so that they have autonomy in when they work their hours and can sustain a positive work life balance.
"The panel loved how embedded the wellbeing support felt in this nomination. They particularly liked the inclusion of a Supportive Working Ethos, and that the wellbeing support was held by someone external to the organisation. The focus on impacting the wider sector through workshops, training and case studies was particularly impressive and ensured that the benefits go beyond those directly working with the organisation."
HIGHLY COMMENDED - SUPPORTING FREELANCERS: Sue Loughlin for MOTHEROTHER
HIGHLY COMMENDED - SUPPORTING STAFF: Changing Relations
Practising Well Award Shortlist
The 2025 Judges
Alongside the core team at CHWA, each application will be read and reviewed by a team of panellists with lived expertise and experience of the creative health sector. Confirmed judges include:
- Nicola Naismith, visual artist, researcher and lecturer
- Hilary Jennings, The Happy Museum
- Victoria Burns, Culture Declares Emergency
- Helen Sharp, Ideas Alliance
- Richard McMann, Member of the Lived Experience Network
- Ruth Flanagan, Artist and member of the Lived Experience Network
- Bibi Aya, freelance artist and member of the Lived Experience Network
- Maz Koshika, creative facilitator, educator and drag king
- Amy Langdown, writer, facilitator and artist
- Eilidh Inara, artist and storyteller
- Manal Aldabbagh, coach, educator and expressive movement facilitator
Previous Awards winners and shortlist
2022 Award winners and shortlist
2021 Award winners and shortlist
2020 Award winners and shortlist
You can read a blog from previous award-winner Performing Medicine here.