Art Pop-Up in Stamford wins Best Social Enterprise at the Rutland & Stamford Mercury Business Awards 2022

The Best Social Enterprise award at the Mercury Business Awards 2022 was given to a group with a focus on the community.

Art Pop-Up was founded by Stamford resident Sam Roddan 10-years-ago.

She said: “It has been quite a momentous journey, particularly in the past four years.

“To win something like this means a lot to the team and the people we work with and is testament to the work we do in the community.”

Over the past few years Art Pop-Up has been involved with a number of projects.

This has included journalling during the pandemic, putting art in windows in Ironmonger Street and research into how people in Stamford connect.

Also: Pictures from the awards

More recently Sam has put an idea forward to Stamford Town Council to rethink the way young people are supported and commission research to find out what activities could prevent teenagers from getting into trouble.

Richard Olsen, of Pegasus Funding, judged the Best Social Enterprise category.

Presenting the award, he said: “The category winner this year creates thought-provoking opportunities for everyone within the community, working with many other not-for-profit organisations and groups.

“They are ever-evolving and quite rightly very proud of all they have created so far.”

MindSpace Stamford and the Evergreen Care Trust were finalists in the category, and both regularly work with Art Pop-Up.

Sam said: “I was surprised to win because of the category we are in. We all work as a team as three organisation so to pick between us must have been very difficult.”