We are delighted to have not one but TWO projects shortlisted for the 23rd Allianz Business to Arts Awards!

'Bookbag', our children's book gifting initiative in partnership with former Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey and Children's Books Ireland has been nominated in the Best Use of Creativity in the Community category.

Aimed at DEIS schools, where free books can be most needed, the Bookbag project gifts every child in chosen schools with a book to take home and keep.

“We are thrilled that Bookbag has been nominated for a Business To Arts award in this category. To gift a book into the hands of a child is to open the door to a lifelong love of reading. We hope Bookbag will grow and grow over the next few years, so more children can discover the life-changing benefits that reading can bring,” said Niamh Sharkey, Laureate na nÓg.

Rutland St National School, local to both Children’s Books Ireland and Brown Bag Films in Dublin’s north inner city, was chosen as the first school to take part in the initiative. The team provided every student in the school with a Bookbag containing a book, posters, bookmarks and a letter from Niamh Sharkey as Laureate na nÓg.  At the launch all students at Rutland Street School took part in a ‘monster doodle’ with Niamh and the animators from Brown Bag Films.  Over two hundred books were gifted to the school library and every class in the school was subsequently visited by an author or illustrator.

While Children’s Books Ireland continues to campaign for a nationwide book-gifting scheme, Brown Bag Films has dedicated funding to Bookbag for the next three years and hopes that with additional sponsors and support it could become a nationwide project

Our second nomination is for our short film ANYA, created for charity organisation To Russia With Love, which has been nominated in the Best Creative Staff Engagement category.

ANYA is a four minute animated short film charting twenty years in the life of a Russian orphan. Director Damien O'Connor was originally approached to produce a short advert to highlight the work that ‘To Russia With Love’ do with abandoned and orphaned children in Russia, but decided that a short film would be a more effective approach. Damien's aim was to create an engaging piece of animation that packs an emotional punch, in the hope that viewers would be moved to show their appreciation by sending a donation directly to To Russia With Love.

“It is amazing to be shortlisted. When I initially pitched the idea to the studio the response was immediate. Name after name came forward with offers of assistance and all worked tirelessly for 15 months to get the project across the line so it is great to see them getting recognition for all the hard work. But more importantly, a nomination sends a clear and definite message to the children in the orphanages that people are responding and listening to their plight,” said Damien O'Connor, ANYA Director.

With 97 projects submitted, we are thrilled to have been shortlisted twice for two causes we're really passionate about.

The awards winners will be announced on Tuesday 9th September in the National Concert Hall with President Michael D. Higgins presenting the awards on the night.