KNEECAP and Sally Rooney among nominees for Sky Arts Awards

KNEECAP and Sally Rooney have been announced among the nominees for the 2025 Sky Art Awards.

KNEECAP's album Fine Art is shortlisted in the Popular Music category, while the Kneecap film directed by Rich Peppiatt is up for an award in the Film category.

In the Literature category, Rooney is nominated for her novel Intermezzo.

All winners will be announced at the Sky Art Awards ceremony in London on September 16.

The news came as KNEECAP and Rooney have both faced recent backlash in the UK over their activism for Palestine.

KNEECAP performed a highly anticipated Electric Picnic main stage set on Saturday, during which they spoke out about terrorism charges that member Mo Chara faces in the UK. Mo Chara is set for a third court appearance in London later this month.

Mo Chara was charged with terrorism for allegedly holding a Hezbollah flag at a November 2024 concert. The band said the flag was thrown on stage and denied supporting Hezbollah. They argued that the charges are politically motivated for their criticism of Israel's occupation of Gaza and of British presence in Ireland.

On August 16, Rooney penned an Irish Times piece pledging to continue supporting Palestine Action "in whatever way I can," including residuals from BBC adaptations of her books.

In response to her statements, British authorities warned Rooney could face arrest under the UK Terrorism Act for financially supporting Palestine Action, which is proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK.

Similarly, the BBC has faced pressure from pro-Israel organisations to pull TV adaptations of Rooney's novels Normal People and Conversations with Friends from their platform.

At the time of writing, neither KNEECAP nor Rooney have commented on the nominations.