Irish Book Awards among winners in virtual Business to Arts Awards

Awards celebrate impact of creative collaborations in supporting the arts

Children’s Books Ireland chief executive Elaina Ryan with her children Fiadh (5) and Sadhbh (3). The organisation won this year’s Business to Arts Awards Judges’ Special Recognition Award supported by Accenture. Photograph: Conor McCabe
Children’s Books Ireland chief executive Elaina Ryan with her children Fiadh (5) and Sadhbh (3). The organisation won this year’s Business to Arts Awards Judges’ Special Recognition Award supported by Accenture. Photograph: Conor McCabe

The An Post Irish Book Awards, Children's Books Ireland and the Galway International Arts Festival were among the winners at this year's Business to Arts Awards.

The 29th Business to Arts Awards were held virtually on Wednesday evening, celebrating the impact that creative collaborative partnerships can have in supporting the arts.

The An Post Irish Book Awards scooped Best Long-Term Partnership, while Best Small Sponsorship went to Aerogen and Druid, and Best Large Sponsorship to the National Concert Hall and Davy.

The Naughton Foundation and the Museum of Literature Ireland won the Best Philanthropic Support to the Arts category supported by the Arts Council.

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The category for Best Use of Creativity in the Community was won by Flogas and the Galway International Arts Festival with John Gerrard for Mirror Pavilion, and Best Use of Creativity in the Workplace went to Iarnród Éireann/ Irish Rail and Christopher Steenson for On Chorus.

This year's Jim McNaughton Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice was awarded to Accenture and Paul Harrison for Quinquaginta and Fuchsia MacAree for Fierce Determination.

The Judges' Special Recognition Award went to Children's Books Ireland for its partnerships with An Post, Brown Bag Films, Community Foundation for Ireland, Ecclesiastical, KPMG, Rethink Ireland and William Fry.

Bursary

The recipient of the Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 artist's bursary was Miriam Kaczor.

"In the face of such an unprecedented year, the Business to Arts Awards remind us of the resilience and ingenuity of creative partnerships and the positive impact that they can deliver," said Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. "The innovation and resourcefulness of this year's nominees reminds us of our inherent agility and the importance of culture and arts as a source of inspiration and comfort for many people over the last year."

Among the sponsors for this year's awards were The Irish Times, Accenture, Arthur Cox and Irish Life.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist