The South Bank Sky Arts Awards (originally The South Bank Show Awards) are an accolade recognizing British achievements in the arts. The awards have been given annually since 1997. They originated with the long-running British arts programme ''

The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, ...

'' and

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...

, who has served as patron, host and master of ceremonies of the awards since their inception. The last South Bank Show Awards ceremony to be broadcast by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

was in January 2010 and was held at

The Dorchester The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

hotel in London. After the network had announced that ''The South Bank Show'' would be cancelled at the end of the 2009 season, the awards ceremony continued to be broadcast by

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

and was eventually renamed the South Bank Sky Arts Awards. Sky Arts revived ''The South Bank Show'' itself in 2012.

Award categories

In addition to awards in each of the individual categories, the South Bank Sky Arts Awards also include the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award recognising lifetime contributions to the arts in Britain, and the Times Breakthrough Award recognising outstanding new British talent. The latter being the only category that is decided by a public vote. Past winners of the Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award include

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...

(2013),

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the Mo ...

(2012),

Dame Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

(2011),

JK Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

(2008), and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

(2007). Between 2004 and 2010, the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

deciBel Award (latterly the Arts Council England Diversity Award) found a home at the ceremony. Winners included Roy Williams for ''Fallout'' (2004),

Neil Biswas Neil Biswas (born 1971) is a British screenwriter, playwright and director best known for his non-fictional TV drama ''Bradford Riots'', which he wrote and directed. ''Bradford Riots'', a film that tells the story of 2001 riots from the perspectiv ...

for ''Bradford Riots'' (2007),

Daljit Nagra Daljit Nagra (born 1966) is a British poet whose debut collection, ''Look We Have Coming to Dover!'' – a title alluding to W. H. Auden's ''Look, Stranger!'', D. H. Lawrence's ''Look! We Have Come Through!'' and by epigraph also to Matthew Arn ...

for ''Look We Have Coming To Dover'' (2008), Street Artist Mohammed Ali (2009), and

Julie McNamara Julie McNamara (born 26 March 1960) is a theatre director, playwright, producer, actor and poet. She is artistic director of touring theatre company Vital Xposure. Patron of disability arts organisation DaDaFest and a political activist for human ...

(2010). Later between 2013 and 2016, the ceremony was used as the platform to announce the winners of the

Sky Academy Arts Scholarship Sky Academy Arts Scholarship was a scholarship award for artists, launched in 2011 by Sky and run in conjunction with IdeasTap and Hiive (Now Screenskills). The annual scholarship supported selected artists and creative individuals under the age of ...

s. As of the 26th annual ceremony (broadcast July 2022), there were 12 award categories:

2022 awards (26th annual ceremony)

Shortlisted nominees were announced on 30 June 2022.

2021 awards (25th annual ceremony)

The 25th annual ceremony marked its return as an in-person event after COVID-19 related restrictions of the previous year with shortlisted nominees announced on 7 June 2021. Two special awards were bestowed this year for innovation in the arts during the pandemic: one for an individual and one for a group / institution.

2020 awards (24th annual ceremony)

Nominations were revealed on 23 November 2020. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the ceremony itself was a virtual event and took place in the winter instead of its usual summertime slot.

2019 awards (23rd annual ceremony)

Nominations were revealed on 3 June 2019.

2018 awards (22nd annual ceremony)

Nominations were revealed on 29 May 2018.

2017 awards (21st annual ceremony)

Nominations were revealed on 6 June 2017

2016 awards (20th annual ceremony)

Nominations were revealed on 3 May 2016.

Selected previous winners (1997—2015)

References

{{Reflist Arts awards in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1996 European arts awards