Apply for QEST and Heritage Crafts Sustainability Awards

Following the inaugural award in 2023, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) and Heritage Crafts Sustainability Award 2024 is open for applications.

The two organisations are partnering to highlight craftspeople in the UK who have gone above and beyond to become measurably more sustainable in their practice.

Glass artist Lulu Harrison, a 2023 QEST Johnnie Walker Scholar, won last year’s prize. She was recognised for her sustainable processes in incorporating waste from local fishing industries to create glass pieces.

“Being the first recipient of this award has been a real honour, with the award money going towards future projects, which wouldn’t have otherwise been possible,” she commented.

The award is aimed at those who have made a change to their materials or processes, or innovated in another way, to measurably reduce their impact on the environment within the last 12 months.

It recognises makers working with traditional craft skills or materials who have taken clear and effective steps to improve their environmental sustainability, as well as the long-term viability of their business.

Following its success in 2023, when the award attracted 66 nominations, this year’s prize will be split into two categories: Material Innovation and Improving Processes.

Each winner will receive £1,000 and will be recognised at a Winners’ Reception at the Vicar’s Hall, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, in November 2024.

Applications close on Friday 24 May at 5pm.

Find out more information here and apply via this link.

Image: Lulu Harrison, who won the first sustainability award in 2023.