(Above) Formerly known as Futuresonic, Manchester's FutureEverything contemporary arts festival in Manchester is on the shortlist for The Lever Prize. andthewardrobe.co.uk
The FutureEverything arts festival and The Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, online festival portal NOISE and the Liverpool and Merseyside Theatres Trust have been announced as the finalists in The Lever Prize, the £10,000 prize recognising arts groups with the best business ideas in the North-West.
Judges from the North West Business Leadership Team, who will work alongside the winners to raise their profile in the area, praised the "exceptionally high standard" of entries after picking the quartet following a "rigorous" round of interviews in Liverpool.
"All four finalists put forward really creative ideas for maximising the potential of the year-long collaboration with NWBLT members and for investing the cash prize on offer," said Geoffrey Piper, Chief Executive of NWBLT.
"The aim of the Lever Prize is to highlight the North-West as being a bright, contemporary place for art and culture to develop and we believe that this can be achieved best through collaboration with business.”
The National Football Museum won the 2009 Prize. Ant Clausen Photography
The panel has traditionally chosen three rivals for the final round, but the judges said the quality of competitors had enticed them to stretch to four in the fifth year of the prize, won by Preston's National Football Museum in 2009.
"The Lever Prize is an excellent way of strengthening the hugely beneficial relationships which exist between business and the arts, and building on the quality of our cultural offer across the North-West," added Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the North-West Development Agency.
"There is a huge amount of innovative and unique work being done in the region to develop the arts and cultural sector, and it's having a real impact on our economy and our communities.
"Cultural and creative industries contribute £3 billion to the regional economy and employ 140,000 people, so it is important to recognise that hard work and talent through initiatives such as the Lever Prize."
The winner will be announced in the New Year.
