The shortlist for the fifth Manchester Blog Awards was announced recently. Which got us thinking about creative awards in general.
From How Do to The Drum it seems like the time between contender announcements, results, and the next ceremony’s build up gets shorter each year. It’s symbolic of two things: the self-sufficiency of the region’s industry, and its ongoing importance on the national and international stage.
This year’s nominees for the best independent dispatches and online commentaries represent a broad cross section of content. The community of literary upstarts on 330 Words– a site exposing poetry, prose and copy running to the aforementioned length- did not go unnoticed for their discipline and flair. And Who The Fudge Is Benjamin Judge’s witty take on a digest publication was rightly revered.
Elsewhere, Look Up Manchester mirrors the positive energy inherent in those who turn innovation into profit and defy a recession. It’s a rubberneck view of structures and spaces in a city with aspirations as groundbreaking as its reputation. And sticking with buildings, Manchester Daily Photo continues to capture all that Cottonopolis is, from puddles to the Palace Hotel and Platt Fields Park, showing that possibilities can be found everywhere.
Perhaps the most important aspect of these awards is their recognition of creativity on a micro-level. It’s proof, if it were needed, that the North West’s industries of innovation still have a huge talent pool of world class professionals. And so the value of thinking outside that box has rarely been clearer.