Recognising and celebrating outstanding contributions to the industry, the event at The Biscuit Factory on Friday 17 November will showcase the finalists and winners of 10 categories – as well as toasting to 12 years of Creative Edinburgh.

Previous winners have made notable strides in their careers, including Edinburgh Makar Hannah Lavery, Jupiter Artland, The Leith Collective and the little living room. It’s an accolade to be selected by the panel of external judges, who are also fellow peers  from Edinburgh’s creative industries.

“We are honoured  to be celebrating creatives in our city despite the adverse funding climate and challenging times faced by many freelancers and start ups,” says Ola Wojtkiewicz, Executive Director at Creative Edinburgh.

“Our Creative Edinburgh Awards bring much needed collective joy, recognition and a deep sense of pride in Edinburgh’s creative scene.”

Aside from the ceremony, the event promises to be the year’s biggest party for Edinburgh’s creatives. There will be food and drink, performances from local artists, and a DJ set to close.

The 2023  Creative Edinburgh Awards are supported by partners and sponsors: The Skinny, Creative Informatics, CodeBase, Techscaler, Edinburgh College, Edinburgh Napier University, Barclays Eagle Labs, Caravan of Courage, Walkie Talky Brewing Co and Actiph Water. Creative Edinburgh is generously supported by Creative Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and Creative Informatics.

Tickets can be found here. For more information about the awards, visit  creative- edinburgh.com.

Nominees are:

The Community Award

• Brass Blast
• Edinburgh Chinese Arts Association: The Mound Chinese New Year Celebration
• North Edinburgh Film Festival
• The Spit it Out Project

The Edinburgh City Award 

• Art27 Scotland’s “Festival of Migration”
• Hidden Door
• The Edinburgh Science Festival
• Young Edinburgh Storytellers

The Collaboration Award 

• Craft Cafe project
• Intercultural Youth Scotland
• Loud Poets Grand Slam Final
• Tinderbox Orchestra

The Innovation Award 

• A Design Storie
• Edinburgh’s Lost Empire Palace Theatre
• Tinderbox Collective

The Freelance Award

• Anneleen Lindsay
• Debi Pirie
• Sophia Hembeck

The Inclusion Award

• Ama-zing Harmonies
• Central Asia Creative Hub
• Cutting Edge Theatre

The Student Award 

• Fìdeachlann: A Multimedia Fantasy World Co-Created with Generative AI
• Gutter Punks
• John Robertson (The Art of self-control)

The Leadership Award 

• Abi Lewis
• Bee Asha Singh & Lea Luiz de Oliveira of The Spit it Out Project
• Dr Simon Gage OBE

The Creative Startup Award 

• Comrie sf – Fountain Sound
• Cunning Folk
• Imagine If. Space CIC
• Stout Stoat Press

The Sustainable Creativity Award 

• A Design Storie
• High Tide
• Positive Imaginings, Rowanbank Environmental Arts & Education
• The Ethical Making Programme