Fifteen Years On: Creative Edinburgh Awards Reunites Past Winners to Celebrate a Community That Keeps Thriving

Fifteen years and over 100 winners on, from the Awards' launch in 2012, their stories show just how far winning an award can take someone and why this year's search for new winners matters as much as ever. Nominations are open now for 2026.

Where are they now?

For Sarah Kwan, who won the Independent Award in 2021, the recognition opened doors she hadn't imagined. "I was the first artist in residence for the National Museum of Scotland at their drawing event," she says. "It was opportunities like that I don't think I would have gotten if Creative Edinburgh hadn't supported me and given me this award." Five years on, she's continuing to develop her signature East Meets West series with gusto.

For Suzanne Loftus of Cutting Edge Theatre, the 2023 Inclusion Award marked a turning point. "It opened up new funding routes straight away," she explains. "We gained more credibility - we were then able to describe ourselves as an award-winning theatre company. We are now multi-year funded by Creative Scotland, and we credit the award in 2023 as the beginning of that."

Further back, Helena Good of Daydream Believers,  Collaboration and Leadership Award winner in 2019,  remembers her organisation as "still a bit of a dream" at the time. Today, Daydream Believers runs creative thinking qualifications in schools across Scotland and beyond. "I think that Creative Edinburgh saw what we were trying to do, and in giving us that award, they were saying: yes, there's something here. Keep dreaming big, and we believe in you."

A community that stays connected

While it was fantastic to see how far individual winners had come, what really showcased the strength of what Creative Edinburgh offers was how many of them had stayed in each other's orbit long after their award year ended. Conversations that started on the Awards dancefloor were still going years later - grassroots founders swapping notes with VR filmmakers and local visual artists. The reunion also allowed new connections to form, with winners from 2018 comparing stories with someone who'd only just picked up their trophy last year. 

"It's not only just an award ceremony," says Jiayi Chen, founder of female artist collective The Great Her and 2023 Student Award winner "Creative Edinburgh has monthly events; people gather together to share opinions, find ambitious people, share a similar mindset. You're not lonely, and you have a community behind you."

That's echoed by Fiona Watt, co-founder of Girls Rock School and a 2018 winner: "It encourages people to work towards something, knowing they're going to get formal recognition, and it can help with applying for funding elsewhere. It's a really good way of recognising creative effort and encouraging others to get involved."

Nominations open today

To mark the 15th anniversary, nominations for the Creative Edinburgh Awards 2026 open today, Monday 31 August. The city's creative individuals, organisations and projects can be nominated across eight categories, with the winners announced at a special celebration on 13 November at Central Hall, Edinburgh.

"Just do it," says Suzanne Loftus on nominating yourself or others. "It's a game changer... thank you, Creative Edinburgh, for giving us a place at the table."

Click here to nominate