Nick Hunt – Lifetime Achievement Award

The creative driving force behind Mid Pennine Arts for the past 35 years, Nick Hunt has been recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Culture Burnley Awards 2026.

The award recognises an individual whose dedication, influence, and passion have made a sustained and outstanding contribution to the cultural, heritage and creative sector over many years with a lasting impact on the local cultural landscape.

Nick’s award was the culmination of a glittering awards night at the Burnley Mechanics Theatre attended by over 200 people when 18 other events, projects, organisations and individuals were recognised either as winners or highly commended for their roles in a host of cultural, heritage, and entertainment events and activities across the borough.

Nominees for this award hadn’t been released in advance so it was a wonderful surprise for Nick. Nick has led MPA for over 35 years, leading the charity through cycles of great change while initiating programmes of work that have gained national and even international acclaim. He initiated for MPA completely new areas of community-based work that have since entered the mainstream: Culture driving regeneration; Culture celebrating landscape; Contemporary art spotlighting heritage; Culture celebrating diversity; Art promoting pride of place – to name but a few!

His impact on the cultural landscape of Burnley is also tangible in the shape of the Singing Ringing Tree, created as part of MPA’s most famous project, Panopticons, which was conceived and led by Nick, to change perceptions of the borough.

Nick is quite a humble person, and not keen on being in the spotlight, but we know he thoroughly deserved this recognition. The room at the Awards ceremony thought so too with a standing ovation. Congratulations Nick!