For 30 years, the A&B Cymru Awards have encouraged and celebrated excellence in partnerships between the private sector and the arts. In 2025, the black-tie dinner and ceremony will take place at ICC Wales on Thursday 19 June.
The flagship event is sponsored for the first time by Cardiff’s longest-established independent estate agents, Hern & Crabtree.
Speaking at the Awards Launch on 22 January, Mike Baillie, Hern & Crabtree’s Company Director, said:
“After many years of proudly sponsoring categories and projects, as well as attending A&B Cymru events, we are thrilled to be named Principal Sponsor for the 2025 Awards. It's an exciting time to be part of their 30th anniversary celebrations and we look forward to supporting the continued success of this incredible partnership.”
The search is now on for Wales’ best creative partnerships and this year’s Awards categories are:
- Arts, Business & the Community, sponsored by Wales & West Utilities
- Arts, Business & Diversity, sponsored by Sony
- Arts, Business & Employees
- Arts, Business & the Environment, sponsored by Bluestone Wales & The Waterloo Foundation
- Arts, Business & Health, sponsored by Cartrefi Conwy
- Business of the Year
- Hodge Foundation Arts Award and the Nicola Heywood Thomas Arts Prize
- Adviser of the Year, sponsored by Grant Stephens Family Law
- Robert Maskrey Award for Arts Philanthropy
In addition to the sponsors of the awards categories, A&B Cymru will work with a range of event partners to ensure the success of the evening. They are Entertainment Sponsor, University of South Wales, Media Partner Orchard and Design Partner Ubiquity, as well as Barti Rum, Makers Guild Wales, Park Plaza Cardiff, Penderyn and Tŷ Nant.
The winners will be chosen by independent panels of judges who have expertise in the arts and the private sector. Judging the business partnership categories are Mohammed Alamgir Ahmed, Director of Projects, Muslim Council of Wales; BAFTA winning Actor & Producer Rakie Ayola; Hern & Crabtree’s Company Director, Mike Baillie; Business Psychologist & Director of Bowen Hopkins, Lorraine Hopkins and Giles McNamara, Bluestone Wales’ Finance Director.
The Adviser of the Year will be judged by Director of Data and Operations at Go.Compare, Hoodi Ansari; Former Artistic Director of North Wales International Music Festival, Mezzo Soprano Ann Atkinson and Grant Stephens, Managing Director of Grant Stephens Family Law.
The 2025 Awards trophies will be designed and made by West-Wales based blacksmith, installation artist and sculptor Angharad Pearce Jones. She will use the last ever sheet of virgin Welsh steel from Tata Steel’s blast furnace in Port Talbot to create the unique pieces. They will celebrate the simplicity of the steel plate, while representing the seeds of change, the growth of green enterprise and the creative arts
Speaking at the Launch, A&B Cymru’s CEO, Rachel Jones, said:
“In this challenging financial climate, A&B Cymru has been astounded by the number of high-quality creative partnerships being forged throughout the past year. We firmly believe that it is more important than ever to celebrate and reward the incredible work of the arts and the vision of the businesses supporting them. The Awards is the highlight of A&B Cymru’s year and we look forward to rewarding the very best in cross-sector collaboration in our special 30th anniversary celebration.”
Nomination Forms can be downloaded from the A&B Cymru website: https://aandb.cymru/ab-cymru-awards-2025/ and the deadline for submissions is 7 March 2025.
