The Manchester Culture Awards celebrate the people, organisations and projects that make cultural life so vibrant across Manchester. Organised by Manchester City Council, the awards recognise outstanding achievements across arts, culture, heritage and community engagement.
Last year, Levenshulme Old Library was delighted to be shortlisted at the awards, and we’d love to return this year. Recognition like this isn’t just about getting trophies – it helps raise awareness of our work, introduces new audiences to our projects and, most importantly, is one of the few opportunities for grassroots cultural organisations to demonstrate their value to those in power. If you’d like to see us continue creating ambitious, community-led cultural projects in Levenshulme, taking a few minutes to submit a nomination really can make a difference.
This year we’re encouraging people to vote for for two Levenshulme Old Library projects:
You Are Here
Category: Outstanding Storytelling
You Are Here is a multimedia storytelling project exploring Levenshulme through its parks and green spaces. Combining original fiction, oral history and sound art, the project commissioned five writers to create stories inspired by local places, alongside audio portraits featuring residents and immersive soundscapes created from field recordings gathered in each setting. The project received more than 1000 listens in its first few months and has been spotlighted as a national case study exploring the power of hyperlocal digital storytelling.
Kahaaniya
Category: Excellence in Creative Health and Wellbeing
Kahaaniya is a free weekly storytelling and play session for South Asian mothers, carers and young children. Delivered in Urdu and English, the sessions support confidence, connection, literacy and wellbeing through storytelling, songs and creative play. The project has helped families who are often not accessing other services or activities, with 100% of participants reporting that they felt more positive after attending and 88% saying they would definitely return.
How to support us:
- Visit the nomination form:
https://surveys.manchester.gov.uk/s/IDJ80W/ - Submit a nomination for one or both projects.
- Share this post with friends, family and colleagues who might like to support us.
The deadline for nominations is Sunday 21 June 2026.
Of course, we’re not the only people doing great work. The Manchester Culture Awards are a really great opportunity to celebrate all of the creativity, passion and commitment of the artists, organisations and community groups doing amazing stuff across the city. If there are other non-LOL projects, events or organisations you’ve enjoyed over the past year, we’d encourage you to nominate them too. Manchester’s cultural life is richer because of the huge range of people contributing to it, and these awards are a chance to recognise that work – particularly the smaller grassroots organisations, artists and community groups whose impact is often felt most strongly at a local level but who often struggle to compete with bigger players when it comes to funding, policy and other decision-making.
Thank you for your support – and for helping us celebrate the stories, creativity and communities that make Levenshulme special.