Sky Arts today announces the nominees for the coveted 2026 Sky Arts Awards. The ceremony will once again be held at the iconic Roundhouse in Camden, hosted this year by Sir Grayson Perry and Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Esteem). The Sky Arts Awards are an unmissable evening of celebration, awarding true excellence across the entire spectrum of the arts in the UK and Ireland.   

Eleven art forms make up this year’s categories, along with the very special Lifetime Achievement, Arts Hero and The Times Breakthrough Award – celebrating trailblazers, visionaries and lifelong champions of the arts. 

Phil Edgar-Jones OBE, Executive Director, Unscripted, Sky said: “The arts shape our lives in countless ways, and the Sky Arts Awards celebrate the exceptional people who bring them to life. Artists and performers from across the creative world come together to recognise a sector that enriches our lives, sparks our imagination and brings us inspiration, connection and joy. We’re looking forward to revealing the winners and celebrating them at the Roundhouse for another memorable evening.” 

In the Classical Music category Music in the Round and Ensemble 360 are nominated for the vibrant Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, Anna Meredith is nominated for her groundbreaking body of work, and Chineke! are nominated for their remarkable 10-year anniversary concerts.

Nick Mohammed, Sam Nicoresti and Susie McCabe are all nominated in the Comedy category for their latest critically acclaimed shows: Show Pony, Baby Doomer and Coming of Rage respectively.

The hotly contested Dance category sees Marc Brew and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui nominated for their stunning collaboration an Accident / a Life; Alesandra Seutin receives a nomination for Mimi’s Shebeen, and Oluwaseun Alatise for AfroDanceBlast, a leading platform celebrating African dance and culture.

In the Film category, multi-award winning Hamnet faces tough competition from British Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr’s directorial debut My Father’s Shadow and the deeply human queer drama Pillion.

In Literature, acclaimed short story writer Wendy Erskine is nominated for her brutal and tender debut novel The Benefactors, alongside Oyinkan Braithwaite for Cursed Daughters, and Robert Macfarlane for the exhilarating Is a River Alive?

In Opera, the Welsh National Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru have been nominated for bringing Britten's masterpiece Peter Grimes to life. The English National Opera are nominated for their thought-provoking production of Dead Man Walking, and the Irish National Opera and Jennifer Walshe are nominated for their artistically ambitious MARS.

Poet, rapper and cultural producer Danny Carlo Pandolfi is nominated in Poetry for Raise the Bar – his poetry events organisation and writers’ development platform. He’s joined by Ashley Hickson-Lovence for Why I Am Not a Bus Driver? - a moving and musical debut collection exploring grief, love and the power of community, and Joelle Taylor’s collection Maryville, exploring underground histories of queer London.

In the Popular Music category CMAT is nominated for her third studio album, the genre-busting EURO-COUNTRY, joined by Jim Legxacy for the tender black british music and Jacob Alon for their emotionally raw In Limerence. 

In Television, BBC One’s heartbreaking Babies is up against two powerful documentaries in Netflix’s Grenfell: Uncovered and Channel 4’s Gaza: Doctors Under Attack.

Graeae Theatre Company’s gripping and devastating Bad Lads is nominated in Theatre, joining the West End transfer of two-time Olivier Award-winning Punch from KPPL Productions and finally theatre powerhouse Michael Sheen for his work with the Welsh National Theatre.

And in Visual Art, Andy Goldsworthy is nominated for his ambitious exhibit Fifty Years, along with acclaimed British artist Linder for Danger Came Smiling and Julianknxx for Shifting / Spirit / Time – an ambitious multi-screen film installation.

Arts Hero and Times Breakthrough winners will be revealed in due course. 

All winners will be announced during the ceremony on 13th October. Performers on the night will be announced soon. 

The Sky Arts Awards are commissioned by Phil Edgar-Jones OBE, Executive Director, Unscripted Originals at Sky for Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Chief Advertising and Content Officer Sky, CEO Sky Studios. The Commissioning Editor for Sky is Leanne Cosby, and the Project Manager is Vanessa Woodard. 

The awards are produced by DRUM Studios, part of Omnicom Media. Executive Producers are Danny Carvalho and Andy Holland.