The Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD), powered by The Communications Council, has postponed its upcoming events due to ongoing health concerns regarding coronavirus (COVID-19).
AWARD chair Cam Blackley and the AWARD Committee has released the following statement:
“As you are all aware, the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve rapidly and it is important that we take the advice of Australian and State Government authorities.
"Our primary responsibility is to maintain the health and well-being of the AWARD community, specifically, our members, staff, and event attendees.
"In particular, it is essential that we act on advice associated with mass gatherings."
AWARD has put a number of measures in place.
The AWARD 40th Cocktail Party planned for March 25 at the Museum of Contemporary Art will be rescheduled to a date later in the year.
All other events included in the AWARD Creative Festival planned for March 25 to 27 will also be rescheduled.
The AWARD Awards gala dinner scheduled on March 27 at The Venue in Alexandria has been cancelled.
AWARD will refund anyone who has bought tickets to any of the scheduled events.
AWARD Awards judging on March 25 and 26 will proceed as planned, but AWARD is currently developing contingencies to ensure judging can be managed safely, most likely via virtual conferencing.
It is still planning to announce all AWARD Award winners on March 27 as scheduled. AWARD is currently reviewing the best options as to how this will be managed.
AWARD School will proceed as scheduled but is currently developing contingency plans to ensure that all students, lecturers, tutors and staff can be confident of their personal safety and wellbeing. Further details will be announced later this week.
"When we weighed up an award show versus the health and safety of our creative community and their families there was only one winner, one course of action to take. AWARD is not alone in taking pre-emptive measures," Blackley says.
"While this was a gutting decision to have to make in light of the new format, events and speakers we had lined up, we will reschedule the AWARD 40th Cocktail Party and other festival events whenever this becomes possible.
"The quality of the Award entries this year is impressive and will still get the attention it deserves from world class judges. We still plan to announce AWARD Award winners as scheduled on Friday 27 March.
"We are working with all our stakeholders to determine the best way to ensure this will happen, and we will announce further details later this week.
"We will continue to follow any further developments and advice from the government over the next few days and weeks and will be acting in the best interests of us all.”
Ongoing AWARD announcements can be found at AWARD Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update.
The finalists for the AWARD Awards were announced earlier in the month.
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