A Windrush festival and a theatre company helping those affected by addiction are among the winners of this year's Hearts for the Arts awards.
The awards celebrate local authorities that are using art and cultural activities to bring communities together.
The 2020 winners are:
- Best Arts Initiative: Plymouth Music Zone (Plymouth City Council)
- Best Arts Project – Community Cohesion: Windrush Generations Festival (Hackney Council)
- Best Arts Project – Arts, Health and Wellbeing: Outside Edge (Hammersmith & Fulham / Westminster / Kensington & Chelsea)
- Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker: Pauline Smeaton (Fife Cultural Trust)
- Best Arts Champion – Councillor: Luthfur Rahman (Manchester City Council)
Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, chair of the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: 'The winners demonstrate some of the best and innovative ways in which councils are bringing communities together, using cultural activities to tackle serious challenges, and enrich the lives of their residents.
'Despite rising demand for services and central government funding reductions, councils continue to be the biggest investors in culture, bringing communities across the country together.'
