The Dorset-based arts producer has set a standard for excellence in the relationship between the arts and place over many years, exemplified as executive creative producer of the National Landscapes Association’s £2m Nature Calling programme: an exploration of landscape, co-created with thousands of people from communities the length and breadth of England during 2025. 

Nature Calling was devised to invite new communities to respond to landscapes. It brought (amongst other things) a brand-new Henge to inner city Luton, nature inspired rap music to Box Hill in Surrey, a colossal creature to stand alongside the Cerne Abbas giant, choose your own adventure trails in Croydon and Bollywood dancing on the beaches of the Northumberland Coast. 

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.”

Kate Wood, Activate’s Executive and Artistic Director said of the award: 
“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,” 

“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.”

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.”

Activate began their relationship with National Landscapes in 2007, working alongside Dorset National Landscape to create an extraordinary dance performance by Red Earth entitled Enclosure on an Iron Age hillfort. The event drew a large crowd and demonstrated how art can powerfully connect people with their nearby countryside, promoting a sense of belonging and rootedness.