Posted by Rachel Westall on 25 September 2025
The Association for Cultural Enterprises is delighted to announce the winner of its annual Seeds of Change £10,000 prize fund supporting and encouraging sustainable initiatives within the cultural sector. The 2025 prize fund has been awarded to The Art House, Wakefield for its creative initiative, From Earth to Cloth. This truly sustainable project works with the local gardening community, creatives and The Art House's own urban orchard space to create a unique range of naturally dyed, handcrafted homeware items for retail and wholesale.
The award was presented at an exclusive event held at the Design Museum, London. Lucy Juniper, Co-Executive Director, The Art House, said, "We are so delighted to receive the Seeds of Change Award from the Association for Cultural Enterprises. It will mean so much to our team at The Art House and we're all super excited to get started with the project."
The Seeds of Change prize fund is designed to foster greater creativity and dynamism within income generation and environmental sustainability across the cultural sector, inspiring arts, heritage and cultural organisations to think about creative ways of generating income while improving their sustainable impact.
Also shortlisted for this year's prize were Fuel Theatre, for a pilot training programme to equip designers and production managers with the skills to radically rethink how live performance is created in response to the climate crisis; and The Hepworth Wakefield for its propagation programme and plant stall transforming previously composted plant material from the Hepworth Wakefield Garden into an innovative new income stream.
The judges were impressed with the calibre and creativity of all the entries, showcasing the incredible innovation and focus on sustainability within the cultural sector. Louise Kirby, Director of Operations and People at The Deep, said, "What a pleasure to judge Seeds of Change 2025. There was such a wide range of ideas from organisations of differing sizes, united by a passion for sustainability, and an eagerness to positively grow community engagement, economic impact, and synergy with the environment. Thank you to all applicants who are so keen to share their innovation with our sector, and many congratulations to our winner."
Seeds of Change 2025 is supported by Mission: Net Zero, helping travel, tourism and cultural organisations build and deliver environmental and social sustainability strategies, including Net Zero roadmaps, while showcasing their commitment to social value and community impact.
Mission: Net Zero Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Catterick said, "We're delighted to work with the Association for Cultural Enterprises to sponsor Seeds of Change, celebrating projects that place sustainability at the heart of creative decision-making and empowering cultural enterprises to engage communities, adopt sustainable practices, and explore innovative new revenue streams."
