New Years Honours: More than 100 people in arts and creative industries recognised

More than 100 people have been recognised for their work in the arts and creative industries in the King’s New Year Honours list, with National Gallery director Gabriele Finaldi, Royal Academy of Arts (RA) president Rebecca Salter and former president of Society of London Theatre Eleanor Lloyd among those to receive awards.

Finaldi said he was “profoundly humbled” to accept a knighthood, while Salter – the first woman to lead the RA – and Lloyd were granted a CBE and an OBE respectively.

Lloyd said she was “honoured” to have been recognised and “proud” to have contributed to helping the theatre sector navigate closures during the pandemic.

“Theatre is a team sport, and it is only right, in this moment, to acknowledge the many tenacious people who shared their time, encouragement, and wisdom in the darkest days of the pandemic and who continue to work doggedly to make our shows and our industry so brilliant today,” said Lloyd.

Knighthoods

Also receiving knighthoods were broadcaster, author and cultural campaigner Loyd Grossman, writer Alan Hollinghurst, and former West Midlands Mayor and current chair of Birmingham REP Andy Street.

Last year, Grossman became chair of the Royal Society of Arts and had his final term leading the board of Royal Parks extended until May 2025 when Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy revoked the appointment of his successor, Dame Mary Archer.

In 2024, Grossman was also appointed chair of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund before departing the charity, after only a few months due to “other commitments”.

Grossman told the Evening Standard he was “delighted, surprised, thrilled, overwhelmed and excited” to receive a knighthood, which recognised his services to heritage.

“It’s wonderful to be honoured for something that has given me so much pleasure and has been so much fun and so rewarding.

“I came to England, to the UK, in my mid 20s, and immediately fell in love with our wonderful sort of culture and heritage.

“I’ve spent a very long time kind of being able to help to conserve that heritage, and more importantly, I think, to promote it and just to tell people what an extraordinary thing it is.”

Rising recognition

Totalling nearly 120, the number of recipients in the arts has swelled in recent years, up from the 90 reported by Arts Professional in 2024 and 60 in 2023. This year, there were nods for those across various sectors, including libraries, heritage, creative education and therapeutic arts charities.

Two of the three recipients of the highest honours in this year’s list hailed from the world of literature, with the author and screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro becoming a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour and fellow writer Jacqueline Wilson recognised as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.

Across the country, there were CBEs for leaders of regional arts organisations, including executive director of Derby Museums Trust Tony Butler, former managing director of Manchester International Festival Christine Cort, and an MBE for former director of Pocklington Arts Centre Janet Farmer.

“It’s a brilliant recognition and reminder of the way the work of Derby Museums is admired in our city and the rest of the country,” said Butler.

“Derby Museums is for the thinker and maker in all of us, and in the years to come, we’ll continue to inspire the next generation to see themselves as creative beings”.

‘We carry on in the hope that it’ll get better’

In film and the performing arts, Sarah Lancashire, Carey Mulligan and Anne Reid, received CBEs.

Fellow actors Anne Marie-Duff and Carmen Munroe, who was also one of the founders of Talawa Theatre Company, received OBEs, as did costume designer Sandy Powell and dancers Marianela Nunez and Ronald Hynd.

The actor and presenter Stephen Fry was recognised with a knighthood for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity.

Former chief executive of Shakespeare North Playhouse, Melanie Lewis, received an MBE, as did Roger Glossop, founder of Cumbria-based Old Laundry Theatre, who told ITV he was in “complete shock” at the award.

“I opened the letter expecting a bill of some sort. It’s not something that I was expecting ever.”

He continued, “There’s a huge amount of luck. You have to be lucky, you really do. Especially in the arts as we know it – certainly as long as I’ve been involved – it’s been starved of money and continues to be starved.

“It’s almost impossible to mount any production. Costs are so high, and they just get out of control. But we carry on in the hope that it’ll get better, and taking this award is good because it shows somebody else was watching and thinks that it’s okay – I’m very pleased, really.”

See below for a list of award winners cited for their service in the arts. The full list of 2025 honours can be found here.

Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour

Sir Kazuo ISHIGURO, author and screenwriter

Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire

Dame Jacqueline WILSON, author

Knighthood
Dr Gabriele FINALDI, director, National Gallery
Dr Loyd GROSSMAN, chair, The Royal Parks
Alan HOLLINGHURST, author
Dr Andrew STREET, chair Birmingham REP and lately Mayor, West Midlands

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Amanda BERRY, former CEO BAFTA
Karen BLACKETT, for services to advertising and the creative industries
Dr Roger BLAND, curator and chair, Treasure Valuation Committee
Dr Henry BRUNJES, philanthropist
Thomas DIXON, designer
Robert HARRIS, novelist
Claudia KENYATTA, director of regions, Historic England
Sarah-Jane LANCASHIRE, actor
Steve MORRISON for services to the media and creative industries
Carey MUMFORD (Carey Mulligan), actor
Sandy POWELL, costume designer
Anne REID, actor
James RICHARDS, for services to film and cinema
Rebecca SALTER, president Royal Academy of Arts

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Nicola BEAUMAN, founder Persephone Books
Professor Neville BRODY, for services to design
Anthony BUTLER, executive director Derby Museums Trust
Deirdra CONAGHAN, for services to theatre and education for adults with learning disabilities
Christine CORT, managing director, Manchester International Festival
Austin DABOH, executive vice-president, Atlantic Records UK
Imtiaz DHARKER, poet, artist and video film-maker
Jasmine DOTIWALA, for services to broadcasting, music and to equality, diversity and inclusion
Anne-Marie DUFF, actor
Patricia HAMZAHEE, for services to philanthropy, the arts and impact investment
Professor John HARLE, musician
Ruth HOLLIS, CEO Spirit of 2012
Ronald HYND, dancer and choreographer
Eleanor LLOYD, theatre producer and former president, Society of London Theatre
Edward MARSAN, actor
Marianela NUNEZ, dancer
Dr Paul ROBERTS, archaeologist and former keeper at the Ashmolean Museum
Romilly SAUMAREZ SMITH, for services to the arts
Nicola SOLOMON, for services to literature and to the creative industries
Smruti SRIRA, CEO Supreme Creations, for services to fashion
Kevin WHATELY, actor
Estelle Marilyn, THE LADY WOLFSON OF MARYLEBONE, philanthropist
Caroline MICHEL, literary agent and chair Hay Festival
Carmen Esme MUNROE, actor
Barbara RAE, artist, colourist and master printmaker

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Emily AIDIN, founder and CEO of Art History Link-Up
Miranda APPLETON, principal, Hereford College of Arts
Thomas BAKER, actor and writer
Philip BENHAM, chair, Friends of the National Railway Museum
Dr Julie BLAKE, co-director Poetry by Heart
Dr Matthew CAIN, writer and broadcaster
Alexander CAMERON for services to heritage and the community in Kent
Timothy CANTELL, for services to heritage and the environment
Professor Geoffrey CROSSICK, for services to the arts and education
Philip CRUMMY, for services to archaeology and heritage
John CULBERT, for services to the textile and fashion industries in Scotland
Hugh DUNCAN, for services to entertainment in Northern Ireland
Roger EVANS for services to ecclesiastical heritage in England and Wales
Mark FANE, former chair, The Garden Museum
Janet FARMER, former director, Pocklington Arts Centre
Francis GALVIN, for services to heritage in Greater Manchester
Roger GLOSSOP, for services to theatre and the performing arts
Dr Linley HAMILTON, for services to the music industry in Northern Ireland Michael David HARRIS, master of the music, St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh
Neil David HATTON, CEO, UK Screen Alliance
Rauni HIGSON for services to silversmithing and to heritage crafts Peter HOW, for voluntary and philanthropic services to music
Jacqueline HYDE, vice-president, artist and company relations, Sony Music
Graham IBBESON, artist
Philippa JONES, director, Create Gloucestershire
Graham KNOWLES, for services to heritage
Stephen LAMACQ, for services to broadcasting and to music venues Major Kevin LAMB, founder, Wind Band Association
Jane LAWSON, development director, Victoria and Albert Museum
Florian LEONHARDT, for services to fine historical and modern string instruments
Melanie LEWIS, lately chief executive Shakespeare North Playhouse
Susie MCDONALD, CEO, Tender Education and Arts, and founder, Tender National
Thomas MUIR engagement and exhibitions officer, Orkney Museum
Richard O’NEILL, for services to education and literature
David ODGERS, consultant and researcher, Historic Building Conservation
Caroline REDMAN LUSHER, for services to music and to charity
Sirkka-Liisa ROBERTS , photographer
Beatrice ROWLATT, for services to the promotion of women’s rights and women’s cultural contributions
Edwina SASSOON, for services to the visual arts, museums and gardens
Daniel SCHUNMANN, for services to community theatre in Cambridgeshire Dr Timothy SHORTIS, co-director Poetry by Heart
Sally STRACHEY, for services to the repair and conservation of heritage buildings
Carol STRAKER, for services to dance
Kimberley STREET, chief executive officer, Sheffield Museums
Kerrie SWEENEY, for services to maritime heritage and tourism in Northern Ireland
Professor Melissa TERRAS, professor of digital cultural heritage, Edinburgh College of Art
Pamela Susan THIEDEMAN, for services to culture and heritage in South Yorkshire
Mavis WEST, trustee and founder, Yorkshire Association for Music and Special Educational Needs
Karen WILLIAMS, co-founder and CEO Escape Arts
Katherine WOOD, for services to art and to the community in Essex
Karon WRIGHT, founder and artistic director, Samling Institute
Peter YOUNG, for services to music and drama education in London

Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

Joyce ANDERSON, leader, School of Dance
Christopher ARMSTRONG, for services to music
Jeremy BROWN, coordinator, Culture on Scilly
David CHAMBERS, for services to music and to the community in Somersham
Michael DAVIES, founder, Rayleigh Town Museum
Janet ELSTON, founder, Triggshire Wind Orchestra and co-founder, Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestra

Emily HALBAN, for services to tackling isolation, loneliness and anxiety through art
Kathleen HAMILTON, for services to theatre
Alison KAY, musician, teacher and trustee, Poole Society for Young Musicians
Robert KIRKLAND, for services to the music industry in Northern Ireland
Paula KLEIN, for services to young people in classical music in Northern Ireland
Mark LONG, for services to musical theatre for young people in Cambridgeshire
Deborah LOWE, chair and director, Youth Onstage
Dr Anne MCARTHUR, committee member, Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society
Donald MEAD, for services to literature
Patricia MERRY, chair, Corbett Community Library
Richard MOORE, for services to music education and preservation in East Sussex
Richard PARRY, for services to music and to choral singing
Balbir SINGH, for services to Bhangra Music and to Punjabi Culture in the West Midlands
Diana SYKES, for services to visual arts and craft in Fife
Jill TERRELL, for services to libraries
Sarah THOMAS, chair, Ilkley Arts, trustee, Ilkley Manor House Trust and chair, Manor House Trust

For any omissions, please contact [email protected].