Arts Award winners 2025

Throughout her time at UCL, Olivia has been a dedicated and dynamic contributor to student media, playing a particularly pivotal role in Era Journal, the UCL arts and culture magazine. She began as a contributing writer, later became Literature Editor, and currently serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief.

Jazz x Salsa Fiesta was a sold-out, collaborative event between Jazz and Salsa Societies held at UCL East that provided live music performances and social dancing for 200 cast and ticket holders. The event engaged both campuses, dancers, musicians and general students and created a cross societal bond that shall last. The way in which numerous jazz standards were arranged to fit salsa as well as traditional salsa tunes led to a whole new level of accessibility to the event.

Ashley has been a dedicated member of artsUCL from her first day at UCL, when she auditioned for Drama Society’s production of Machinal. Ashley has taken on numerous leadership positions in the community across her time at UCL. She has held positions on both the Drama Society and Musical Theatre Society committees, served as the performing arts rep to Activities Zone last year, and this year has represented our community as the Arts Officer, championing accessibility, equity and inclusion.

As Co-Editor of The Cheese Grater Magazine, Robert spearheaded the publication’s meteoric rise in both influence and output. Managing a team of over 30 writers and researchers alongside an 8-person sub-editing team, he oversaw a prolific year that saw The Cheese Grater return to the forefront of political and cultural discourse at UCL. Under his leadership, the magazine achieved its largest output in recent memory, producing four full print editions.

This production of Twelfth Night brought an exciting new twist to Shakespeare’s classic comedy, blending jazz with a noir vibe for a totally unique take. The show took place in Mully’s Bar, which was completely transformed into an underground jazz speakeasy - it was dramatic, mysterious, and filled to the brim with great jazz music that brought the story to life in a fresh and exciting way.

In his first major artsUCL production in the Bloomsbury Theatre, Tumo brought impeccable comic timing, outstanding choreography and excellent vocals to the role of Donkey in Shrek: The Musical. Throughout the rehearsal process, Tumo brought new ideas to every rehearsal, collaborating with the directing team to enhance the show's creative vision, and bringing a more youthful and playful vibe to the character. Tumo's improvisation, line delivery and use of the stage to engage the audience was brilliant and his creative mind elevated the show.

Temi Gomez’s piece reviewing the failures in research methodology regarding the Cass Review demonstrated the importance of ensuring journalists do not take flawed findings for face value. Temi’s flowing style allowed the article to resonate with a wider reader base, demonstrating a complex topic with the utmost respect to the field.

You can read the full article here.

Over the course of Varsity week, UCL Film & TV Society delivered 6 live streamed matches from 3 different venues to the wider student community, working to address the varied requirements different of sports, whilst coordinating a revolving production team and crew.

The size and scale of the production cannot be underestimated, with recruitment reaching anyone in UCL or Kings College London who had an interest in being involved.

Shakespeare Company’s Twelfth Night was not just a production, but an experience and this was due in no small part to reimagining of the space in Mully’s Bar.

From the moment audiences entered, they were immersed in Illyria, not as a fictional Mediterranean setting, but as a jazz-soaked lounge, complete with neon bar signs, posters and a custom-built cocktail bar. The immersive set and use of aisles through the audience blurred the line between audience and performer. You weren’t just watching the show - you were guests at the party, participants in the drama, seated inches from the action.

With over 600 members, Salsa Society has created a vibrant and friendly community with inclusivity at its core. Their regular weekly classes are divided into beginner, improver and intermediate to allow people of all skill levels to participate, and this year they have worked to engage students at UCL East by introducing UCL East Salsa classes.

Lucy's individual impact on artsUCL activities this year is quite frankly insurmountable. This year has been a transformative year for artsUCL, especially for the performing arts, and Lucy's tireless work as the president of Stage Crew Society has been key to this.

Under Lucy's leadership, Stage Crew Society has facilitated a massively expanded programme of shows in the Bloomsbury Studio and overseen a transformation of the Bloomsbury Theatre production environment, working to implement the recommendations of a new collaboration guide.

This year has been a truly outstanding one for Era Journal, UCL’s arts and culture magazine. What distinguishes Era is the wide range and high quality of press opportunities they provide for members. The editorial team has put considerable effort into liaising with press officers from leading art institutions in London and beyond, acquiring access to key cultural events for their members free of charge, in a press capacity.

Rope, filling one of artsUCL's first ever open slots in the Bloomsbury Studio, was in equal measure funny, tense, dark, suspenseful and melodramatic, leaving audiences chuckling one moment and reeling the next. This version transformed Patrick Hamilton's thriller into a powerful, feminist reflection with outstanding performances that left a lasting impression on those able to secure a ticket.

A production of outstanding creativity, inclusivity, and organisational excellence, Rhapsody 2025 was not just a concert, but an all-consuming musical and theatrical experience tailored to a large-scale, sit-down venue. Each number had its own individual musical style, choreography, costume design, and lighting, and they all seamlessly flowed into each other, creating a sum greater than its parts.

This has been a truly incredible year for Jazz Society - by increasing their range of activities through collaboration, creating a welcoming space in the society, and improving the consistency of their activities, they have turned Jazz Society into a special space for many.