West Sussex charity has received the Queen’s Award for its work in the local community

Ambassadors Katya Solyanko and Tom Stimpson at a recent campaign event

The ambassadors of award-winning arts charity Outside In have been announced as recipients of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

Outside In is a national charity that was founded in 2006 at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, and provides a platform for artists facing barriers. As a result, artists are at the core of everything it does. Founder and director Marc Steene said: “One of the elements of Outside In that I am most proud of is its ambassadors, those artists who want to help the charity in its work and give their time voluntarily. They represent the best of what we can achieve, a network of supportive artists, helping each other, sharing their work, their voices and helping us to find more artists in real need of our support.”

The ambassadors are one of 244 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year.

Chair Charles Rolls and director Marc Steene speaking with artist Vicky Bowman, credit Phoebe Wingrove

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities and was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Chair of the charity, Charles Rolls, said: “It is wonderful that the Ambassadors get this recognition for the invaluable way in which they are spreading the message about Outside In, their generosity in sharing their own stories to help others is truly inspiring.”

Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. In West Sussex, this includes Chichester Hospital Broadcasting Association, Findon Village Collective, Sussex Search and Rescue and The Daisy Chain Project, which provides legal advice to victims of domestic abuse.

Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, Mrs Susan Pyper, said: “I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to Outside In, one of the five outstanding and diverse groups in the county that have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The work that they do to help others is remarkable, and the dedication of their volunteers and staff is truly humbling. They make a real difference to the lives of others. The Queen’s Award is a tremendous accolade for these five fabulous groups, and I very much hope that their achievements will encourage other volunteer groups to consider putting themselves forward for nomination for this prestigious award.”

Representatives of Outside In’s ambassadors will receive the award crystal and certificate from the Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex later this year. In addition, two representatives from the Outside In ambassadors will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2023, along with other recipients of this year’s award.