Photo: Emele Ugavule / Atong Atem

2019 Finalists For The Australian Women In Music Awards Have Been Announced

After a stellar inaugural year in 2018, the Australian Women in Music Awards will be returning for its second year in 2019. The finalists for this year’s awards have today been announced, with the likes of NGAIIRE, Mojo Juju and Christina Anu amongst them.

Taking place on Wednesday, 9th October in Brisbane, the awards will be presented at a ceremony, concert and party.

“As well as the opportunity to celebrate tremendous talent, AWMA provides a platform for artists and music practitioners including those in regional and remote areas, to come together, to learn and empower one another,” said AWMA Founding Director and Executive Producer, Vicki Gordon.

“We received almost double the nominations this year, from every state and across all areas of diversity, reflecting the urgent need for change in the Australian music industry.”

This year’s ceremony will see 15 awards being presented across a variety of industry professions, including producing, engineering, film making, photography, songwriting, artist management, music journalism and more. A public nomination process was held to determine who would be nominated, and then the finalists were decided by a prestigious group of industry professionals and practitioners.

Performers on the night will include René Geyer, Katie Noonan, Clare Bowdith and NGAIIRE.

The AWMAs will also be hosting a two-day program at the Brisbane Powerhouse in the lead up to the ceremony on Tuesday, 8th October and Wednesday, 9th October. This program will feature a series of forums and panel discussions on topics such as gender diversity and visibility in hip-hop, the intersection of music and politics and more. Noted broadcaster, musician and writer, Eddie Ayres, will be delivering a keynote speech.

Check out the full list of finalists below.

Australian Women In Music Award Finalists 2019

Artistic Excellence Award

Christine Anu

Nai Palm

NGAIIRE

Creative Leadership Award

Claire Edwardes

Elaine Chia

Katie Noonan

Diversity In Music Award

Christine Anu

Lisa Cheney & Peggy Polias (Making Waves)

NGAIIRE

Emerging Artist Award

Alice Skye

Ella Fence

Lisa Caruso

Excellence In Classical Music Award

Caroline Almonte

Claire Edwardes

Sarah-Grace Williams

Excellence In Image Making Award

Chloe Jean

Melaine Knight

Ntombi Moyo

Filmmaker Award

Aimée-Lee Xu Hsien Curran

Tashi Hall

Humanitarian Award

Alison Hams

Dami Im

Lindy Morrison, OAM

Lifetime Achievement Award

Joy McKean, OAM

Marcia Hines, AM

Vika and Linda Bull

Live Production Award

Jenny Moon

Kait Hall

Laurie May

Music Journalist Award

Ange McCormack

Jane Gazzo

Jules LeFevre

Music Leadership Award

Elise Reitze-Swensen

Lynette Irwin

Sue Telfer

Music Photographer Award

Jessica Vaini

Kerrie Geier

Tashi Hall

Songwriter Award

Mojo Juju

NGAIIRE

Thelma Plum

Studio Production Award

Elise Reitze-Swensen (Feels)

Kathy Naunton

Virginia Read

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