Nominees announced for 2025 Sky Arts Awards

Friday 5 September 2025

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Garsington Opera - Body of Work

Claudette Johnson,Three Women, installation view, Art on the Underground, Brixton Station, 2024. Claudette Johnson. Courtesy Art on the Underground, London. Photo: Angus Mill

Stopgap Dance Company - Lived Fiction

Bold Tendencies - Body of work

Roundhouse - The Roundhouse Poetry Slam

Mr Loverman (BBC)

LUNG - The Childrens Inquiry

Garsington Opera - Body of Work

Claudette Johnson,Three Women, installation view, Art on the Underground, Brixton Station, 2024. Claudette Johnson. Courtesy Art on the Underground, London. Photo: Angus Mill

Stopgap Dance Company - Lived Fiction

Bold Tendencies - Body of work

Nominees are announced today for this year's Sky Arts Awards, returning to London's Roundhouse on 16 September.

Launched last year as an evolution of the South Bank Sky Arts Awards, The Sky Arts Awards honours outstanding achievement across a wide spectrum of artistic disciplines. It remains the only event in the world that recognises the full breadth of cultural genres with categories including classical music, comedy, dance, film, literature, poetry, opera, popular music, television, theatre and visual arts.

Phil Edgar-Jones OBE, Executive Director, Unscripted Originals, Sky said: The Sky Arts Awards remain the only night of the year in which all the arts are recognised at once. Poets and sopranos join actors, writers, dancers and musicians to celebrate the contributions they have made to the sector which not only fuels our economy but brings us joy, empathy and hope. Our independent juries have now assembled across every discipline to shortlist the best of the best and all that remains is for us to reveal the winners in what promises to be an unmissable night at The Roundhouse.

Nominees across all categories have been shortlisted by independent juries comprised of industry peers from all artistic disciplines. Artists or arts organisations are nominated for a single outstanding work, or for their entire body of work over the last year.

Nominees are as follows:

In the Classical Music category, all nominees are recognised for their body of work: Bold Tendencies and their championing of adventurous performers and performance; Errollyn Wallen for her fluid and fearless music, and pioneering orchestra, Manchester Camerata.

For Comedy, Elf Lyons is nominated for her genre-defying show Horses, alongside Jen Brister for her critically acclaimed body of work and Sarah Keyworth for their standout show, My Eyes Are Up Here.

In a hotly contested Dance category, Lost Dog and their reimagining of the Medea myth, Ruination, is up against Nederland Dans Theatre and Complicit for their trilogy, Figures in Extinction, and Stopgap Dance Company who are nominated for groundbreaking Lived Fiction.

In Film, political thriller Conclave is nominated alongside Rich Peppiatt's biopic KNEECAP and Karan Kandhari's formally daring debut, Sister Midnight.

In Literature, Alan Hollinghurst is nominated for his portrait of modern Britain, Our Evenings, Gwyneth Lewis for her memoir, Nightshade Mother: A Disentangling, and Sally Rooney for her latest hit novel, Intermezzo.

For Opera, Garsington Opera is nominated for their world-class body of work, Opera North for their inventive production, Simon Boccanegra, and Sound Voice for their innovative digital opera installation, The Sound Voice Project.

In the Poetry category, Caleb Femi is nominated for his life-affirming collection, The Wickedest. Janetta Otter-Barry is nominated for her trailblazing body of work in children's poetry publishing, and Roundhouse are nominated for the UK's biggest spoken-word competition, The Roundhouse Poetry Slam.

In Popular Music, avant-pop superstar Charli xcx is nominated for her album Brat, up against Irish trio KNEECAP for their album, Fine Art, and Lola Young for her landmark album, This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway.

For Television, Netflix's searing four-part drama Adolescence co-created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne is nominated alongside BBC's deeply human drama, Mr Loverman, and the lavish adaptation of Jilly Cooper's Rivals from Disney+.

In the Theatre category, Royal Court Artistic Director David Byrne is nominated for his body of work re-energising new writing in British theatre. Jamie Hale, founder of CRIPtic Arts is also nominated for their body of work championing exceptional disabled artists, and Barnsley-based LUNG are nominated for their bold verbatim musical, The Children's Inquiry.

And in Visual Art, Barbara Walker is nominated for her exhibition and book, Being Here, exploring themes of visibility and erasure. Claudette Johnson is nominated for her first public artwork, Three Women, at Brixton station, and Michelle Roberts is nominated for her body of work, including her latest solo exhibition, Red, Blue, Up.

Up-and-coming talent across the arts is recognised in the Times Breakthrough category, also announced today. This year's nominees, shortlisted by The Times arts and culture team, are visual artist Alex Margo Arden, for her first solo exhibition, Safety Curtain, presented earlier this year by Auto Italia; writer Nussaibah Younis for her brilliantly funny debut novel, Fundamentally; and actor Owen Cooper, for his breakout role in Adolescence.

Winners will be announced at the Sky Arts Awards ceremony on 16 September, hosted by Bill Bailey. Watch it on the night on Sky Arts, Freeview and streaming service NOW.

skyartsawards.sky

For more information, contact Lucy.Butterfield@sky.uk

Full list of nominees is as follows:

Classical Music

Bold Tendencies - Body of work

Errollyn Wallen - Body of work

Manchester Camerata - Body of work

Comedy

Elf Lyons - Horses

Jen Brister - Body of work

Sarah Keyworth - My Eyes Are Up Here

Dance

Lost

LINK:	https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/nominees-announced-for-2025-sky...
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