Two big shows come together in 2016 M+AD!

The Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) will increase its presence at Sydney’s 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.

NZ and Asian agencies are eligible for most AWARD categories, and NZ work is frequently recognised. AWARD 2015 will be held this Monday (November 9) in Sydney. And

Semi-Permanent NZ will run as usual in July 2016. The last Auckland showing of Semi Permanent was in July – but this year’s Wellington edition opens on Tuesday 17 November.

“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,” said AWARD chair Wilf Sweetland said. “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.”

Australia’s Communications Council ceo Tony Hale said: “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.”