Originally written as a press release on 20 November 2025.
Activate Performing Arts, the Dorset-based outdoor arts producer, is delighted to have been honoured with the prestigious Bowland Award by the board of the National Landscapes Association. The award – a hen harrier sculpture in bronze – recognises outstanding contributions and achievements in caring for the UK’s National Landscapes and making them wonderful places to visit, live and work in.
“It is a genuine privilege to accept the Bowland Award on behalf of Activate – the first time an arts organisation has been commended in this way,” said Kate Wood, Activate’s Executive and Artistic Director.
“In a long and fruitful relationship with National Landscapes, Activate has collaborated on a wide range of projects, including numerous performances and installations at home and abroad, as well as helping formulate its first art and landscape strategy, delivering training, and brokering an alliance between National Landscapes and Arts Council England.
“It has been a pleasure to work with such supportive, enthusiastic and inspirational partners and we have learned an enormous amount about our landscapes from the collaborations.”
Activate’s connection to the Dorset National Landscapes Partnership goes back to 2007 when it funded a piece by Red Earth entitled Enclosure for Inside Out Dorset on the Iron Age hillfort at Hambledon Hill near Blandford. An extraordinary performance with music, involving professional dancers, choreographers and musicians, and co-created with local school students, it took place on a misty autumnal equinox night drawing a big crowd for a deep collective experience.
The organisations have continued to work together to present installations and performances that celebrate place, explore environmental issues and engage diverse audiences. Activate has been executive creative producers with National Landscapes’ Nature Calling, a two-year nationwide arts project encouraging audiences to better understand and connect with local natural landscapes, and produced the monumental Consequences giant created by Radical Ritual, bringing it to Corfe Castle and Yeovil as part of Inside Out Dorset with supporting community programmes in each location enjoyed by thousands of visitors. Nature connectedness and equity have been at the heart of Nature Calling.
John Watkins, Chief Executive of the National Landscapes Association said: “We are proud to give the Bowland Award 2025 to Activate Performing Arts. They are long term, valued partners, supporting us to develop an approach that inspires people into National Landscapes, sowing the seeds of lifelong connections with these places and a desire to protect them for future generations.
“The Activate team have brought expertise, creativity and energy to our partnership, and the value of their work cannot be overstated.”
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said: “For more than thirty years Activate has shown how live performance can inspire communities and strengthen their sense of identity with place. The leadership team deserve high praise for their inclusive approach to arts participation, helping people connect with their local environment and care for its future. We’re proud to support their work and look forward to their next outdoor spectacle which will undoubtedly encourage audiences across the country to engage with the natural world.”
Image, l-r: Philip Hygate, Chair, National Landscapes Association; Kate Wood, Executive and Artistic Director, Activate Performing Arts; John Watkins, CEO, National Landscapes Association