Creative Lives People’s Choice Award 2021: Which two London groups have been nominated?

Two organisations in London have been nominated for The People’s Choice Award at the Creative Lives Awards.

A total of 31 groups in the UK have been nominated for the award, and the judges will give an award to one group from England, Scotland, Ireland/ Northern Ireland and Wales.

RatPack, a youth group made up of young people aged 8-16 from Waltham Forest.

May Project Gardens is a London-based grassroots organisation whose mission is to empower marginalised groups to address poverty and access to resources, and to exert influence through sustainability and creativity.

Founded shortly before the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, the club is run by and for young people, and during the pandemic Ratpack designed and distributed 60 art packs to local children who may not have had access to art supplies outside of school.

Ratpack went on to run more collaborative projects, including online creative workshops, and re-designing Gnome House community garden.

Chissola, who is the Youth Leader for Ratpack, told LondonWorld about the nomination and what it means to everyone at the youth group.

Chissola said: “This nomination is honestly amazing, I feel like the group has put in so much effort towards keeping Ratpack alive during a time where the nation was experiencing so much loss.

“The kid’s efforts should definitely be recognised too, everyone was so collaborative when it came to shifting the way we carried out creative activities.

“Most importantly, I think it helped them feel less isolated. I know that little catch up session whilst we were waiting for kids to join the Zoom call probably meant a lot for a few of the kids.

“With this nomination, I hope the kids feel rewarded but also raise awareness of the newly established youth group in our local borough and hopefully we get to see new faces.”

Voting is open until 31 January 2022.

To vote for Ratpack, click here

To cast your vote for May Project Gardens, visit this link