London Marionette Maker Wins Heritage Crafts Trainee of the Year Award 2025
British UNIMA shares news of the 2025 award and training-bursary opportunities reopening in early 2026
British UNIMA is delighted to share the news that London-based marionette maker Ash Appadu has won the 2025 Heritage Crafts Trainee of the Year Award, supported by the Marsh Charitable Trust, with a £1,000 prize presented at Wentworth Woodhouse on 17 November 2025.
This announcement is shared from Heritage Crafts, the national charity for traditional crafts. Although this is not a British UNIMA programme, we are proud to celebrate the achievements of artists in our community working to preserve the artistry, skill and heritage of puppetry in the UK.
About Ash Appadu
Ash Appadu is a designer and maker of puppetry who has been passionately focused on the craft for the last three years. Originally working as an interdisciplinary artist, Ash continues to draw on those influences, weaving them into a distinct and expressive puppet-making practice.
In 2022 they received the Lewisham Arthouse Award for their puppetry piece Is that you Mr. Goat?, shortly before beginning an internship at the Little Angel Theatre, where they deepened their skills in design, construction, and performance.
As part of this opportunity, Ash debuted their first children’s puppet show, Where the Water Falls, at the Little Angel Theatre’s Children’s Puppet Festival in summer 2023. The production was praised by Everything Theatre as:
“A delightful debut production exploring themes of identity and personal conflict, but which offers a positive resolution.”
Ash’s work consistently explores themes of intersectionality, Trans identities, and Mauritian heritage, bringing vital personal and cultural storytelling into the field of contemporary puppetry.
Most recently, Ash embarked on training in historical marionette wood carving with the Homo Faber Foundation and master puppeteer Oliver Hymans, contributing to the preservation and reinvigoration of this heritage craft—now officially listed as an endangered practice.
About the 2025 Trainee of the Year Award
The Heritage Crafts Trainee of the Year Award celebrates exceptional students and trainees of traditional crafts across the UK. This includes people training through apprenticeships, traineeships, institution-based programmes with strong practical components, or portfolio-based learning through short courses and workshops.
This year’s finalists included:
Ash Appadu – marionette maker
Toby Britton-Watts – Stained Glass Craftsperson Apprenticeship
Bradley Stuart Wills – Artist blacksmith
The Marsh Charitable Trust partners with organisations across the UK to recognise individuals making outstanding contributions to social, cultural and environmental causes.
Training Bursaries – Reopening Early 2026
Heritage Crafts will reopen applications for their Training Bursaries in early January 2026, with a mid-March deadline.
These bursaries support new entrants and early-career craftspeople experiencing financial hardship. Up to £4,000 is available to help cover:
apprenticeship-style training
specialist courses (accredited or not)
self-directed training with master craftspeople
tools, materials, books, and related travel/accommodation (up to 30%)
These bursaries cannot be used for living expenses, research, or promotional activities.
A detailed FAQ is available on the Heritage Crafts website for those preparing to apply.
About Heritage Crafts
Heritage Crafts is the national charity for traditional crafts. Working with Government and partner organisations, they advocate for sustainable pathways for traditional craft skills and support the makers keeping these practices alive. They are a UNESCO-accredited NGO for Intangible Cultural Heritage and played a key role in advocating for the UK’s 2023 ratification of the UNESCO Convention.