AWARD increases presence at Semi Permanent; AWARD Awards ceremony set for Friday 27 May

The Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) will increase its presence at the annual Semi Permanent festival of creativity and design from May 2016, in a collaboration that will introduce an annual AWARD showcase to the three-day event and host the annual AWARD Awards ceremony as a new focal point of the festival.

Says Wilf Sweetland, AWARD chair: "Over the past two years AWARD has begun to build a presence at Semi Permanent, delivering sessions on the future of creativity in 2015, and tackling the gender gap in our industry in 2014. We recognised Semi Permanent to be an important like minded partner, and the perfect platform for raising awareness of the best of our industry among a broad and more diverse audience - the next generation of creative talent in particular.

"More than 10,000 people participate in Semi Permanent each year, from different corners of the creative industry - it made sense to have the AWARD Awards, our biggest celebration and demonstration of our industry's work, held in that arena.

"The move will also be an opportunity for AWARD to interact with the Semi Permanent audience. During the three day event, we will be providing: an experiential component showcasing some of the most brilliant regional work from the last few years; Q&A sessions with the creators of the work; an internationally recognised speaker; and, a short form AWARD School creative execution program - all of which will introduce AWARD to an entirely new audience across the three days."

Says Tony Hale, CEO, The Communications Council: "This is an exciting and progressive move for AWARD which aligns with one of The Communications Council's key goals for 2016 - championing commercial creativity by showcasing the best of our industry to a much broader audience. Our members will also benefit from access to Semi Permanent talks and exhibitions with discounted rates and invitations to exclusive member events. There is a real focus on creativity in Sydney during May, with Vivid held concurrently - it's important that AWARD is a prominent part of that celebration."

Since launching in Sydney in 2003, Semi Permanent has grown into a global platform for creativity, art and design, running in more than 11 cities and bringing together a diverse creative community to celebrate, inspire and share ideas.

Murray Bell, co-founder and director of Semi Permanent: "Semi Permanent is very excited to announce the start of a much more engaging collaboration with AWARD.

"From 2016 onwards, it is a big proud step for us to really deliver on our commitment to go beyond inspiration and truly enable the creative community. In addition to the existing program of elite presentations, world-first exhibitions, workshops and innovation labs, attendees of our headline Sydney event will now have the opportunity to hear from, meet and collaborate with both students and leaders of the Australasian advertising community through AWARD. We believe our collaboration with AWARD will bring together a strong, dynamic and passionate community that will inevitably create exciting new opportunities."

Semi Permanent will run from 26th to 28th May at Sydney's Carriageworks, with the AWARD Awards taking place on Friday 27th May. Late entries to the awards will be accepted up until Monday 9th November, incurring a late fee. For category details and to enter, visit the AWARD website.