Gorsedh Kernow Awards and Competitions

Award winners Hanterhir with Grand Bard Elizabeth Carne (2019)

The Gorsedh Kernow Awards 2021 replaces the old awards and competitions scheme. The change to a more flexible system will enable us to recognise and celebrate a much greater range of Cornish cultural activity alongside of the more traditional arts and literary entries. It will also open the doors to new media technologies.
A special awards ceremony is held during the Esedhvos week before the Gorsedh Kernow ceremony on the first Saturday of September 2019. The awards ceremony will also include displays, presentations and performances by award winners. Full details will be posted on this website and in the Esedhvos Programme nearer the date.
The Gorsedh Kernow Awards are divided into “Adults” and “Young People”. Leaflets in pdf format for the Young People’s Awards give more information. Information on the Adults Awards is available on the website for 2021 and a new leaflet will be available for the 2022 Awards. There is no restriction on who may submit an entry.

The Gorsedh Kernow Awards seek to foster and promote the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall, through awarding Awen Medals for outstanding creative and community work that expresses Cornish identity and culture. These awards are designed to celebrate creative or community work that is exceptional, whether by scope, scale, duration or reach.

For 2021 we have changed our categories in recognition of the growing number of entries we receive:

Our new Open Submission section allows anyone to submit work their own work in some key aspects of Cornish culture: Cornish Language or Dialect writing, Cornish Study, and Creative Work. After specialist adjudication, successful entrants will be awarded a Gorsedh Kernow Certificate of Recognition. The awards panel may use its discretion to award one prestigious Awen medal in any category. Please see the entry form for details of each category.

Our Gorsedh Kernow Awards for outstanding work in Creativity or Community are not open to self-submission but everyone is invited to nominate individuals or groups for work in either category that is exceptional or outstanding, by virtue of length of service, reach or scope of achievement. Nominations, with written citations, must be on the official form.

There have been no changes to the Young People's scheme. Here is the form and here the leaflet.

Please return soon to download the Adults Award form.

If you have any further questions please contact us via these emails:

awards@gorsedhkernow.org.uk

young-peoples-awards@gorsedhkernow.org.uk

Awards 2020 'poster gallery'