First round of Heritage Crafts Awards 2024 open

Deadline: 7 June 2024, 5pm

The first round of the Heritage Crafts Awards in 2024 are now open for nominations, with 12 prizes over seven award categories up for grabs. The Awards, which have been running since 2012, celebrate and highlight the traditional living crafts that contribute to British heritage. 

The President’s Award for Endangered Crafts, now in its fifth year, was established by Heritage Crafts President The Former Prince of Wales. Each year the President’s Award presents £3,000 to a heritage craftsperson who will use the funding to ensure that craft skills are passed on to the future.

The second annual Environmental Sustainability Award, in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), will this year award two £1,000 prizes, open to craftspeople working with traditional craft skills or materials who have demonstrated an innovative approach to environmental sustainability or transformed the environmental impact of their craft business through a series of incremental changes and improvements.

The tenth annual Maker of the Year Award will this year award four £1,000 prizes, to heritage craftspeople in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, who have made an outstanding contribution to their specific crafts within the previous 12 months, with support from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation. An overall UK Maker of the Year will be selected from the four national winners, with their prize topped up to £2,000, with support from the Marsh Charitable Trust.

The Marsh Charitable Trust will support four other awards, including Trainer of the Year, Trainee of the Year, the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the new Community Catalyst of the Year Award.

List of awards open until 7 June 2024:

• President’s Award for Endangered Crafts – supported by Heritage Crafts President
  The Former Prince of Wales
• Maker of the Year (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and UK) – supported by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, the William Grant Foundation and the Marsh Charitable Trust
• Trainer of the Year – supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust
• Trainee of the Year – supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust
• Community Catalyst of the Year – supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust
• Lifetime Achievement Award – supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust

Anyone, including the makers themselves, can nominate for this award. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 7 June 2024 and you can find out more about each award, via the button below. The award winners will be announced at a high-profile Winners’ Reception in November 2024.

See all awards

A second round of awards will open for nominations on 24 June, including Woodworker of the Year, Precious Metalworker of the Year, Fashion and Textile Maker of the Year, Leatherworker of the Year and others, as well as range of awards for young makers aged 25 and under.