$100,000 Awarded to Ten Composers for Brave New Works

Ten Australian composers are the recipients of the APRA AMCOS and Australian Music Centre’s Art Music Fund, taking the grant’s all-time funding total to more than $500,000 in five years. This year’s $100,000 allocation will support a range of brave new projects as they come to life – from urban art installations, to video and sound works to a cappella collaboration.

The 2020 Art Music Fund recipients are Kristin Berardi, Leah Blankendaal, Olivia Davies, Aviva Endean, Madeleine Flynn & Tim Humphrey, Thomas Meadowcroft, Maria Moles, Jodi Rose and Jon Rose.

The successful applicants’ compositions demonstrate the high-level creativity, innovation and collaboration happening in the sector, which is more important than ever to fund.

Jana Gibson, Head of Member Services, APRA AMCOS:

“As working conditions for our members are changing dramatically on a global scale, we’re pleased to provide some certainty to support the creation of new work this year through the Art Music Fund. An incredible selection of compositions have been identified reflecting a diverse range of talented composers and themes. We look forward to experiencing the stories they’ll share with us at the completion of these projects.”

John Davis, CEO of the Australian Music Centre:

“Diversity of creative practice is a strong feature of the recipients in the 2020 Art Music Fund round, from notated practice to installation, from technology-based sound to the environment. At this time of crisis, all these works reach out to not only reflect contemporary concerns, but they also define a future for how art music can meaningfully connect in new contexts. The Australian Music Centre is proud to partner with APRA AMCOS in this important initiative, and is very grateful for their commitment to it.”

2020 Art Music Fund recipient Olivia Davies:

“Considering how much we rely on the arts, particularly now, it’s important to acknowledge how important it is for such grants to be available. It’s never just about the individual, there is always a network of people involved in some way, or a community for which the project aims to reach and benefit.

“Artists will always create, but we need the support so we can share it.”

Davies has interstate and international plans for ‘Gradient’, a 6-hour immersive audiovisual installation.

Art Music Fund applications were assessed on the viability of the proposed project, the quality of the work, and the strategy for the life and reach of the work.

The past year has seen previous recipients’ funded compositions come to fruition including the world premieres of:

James Rushford’s ‘Prey Calling’
Eve de Castro-Robinson’s ‘Clarion’
Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh’s ‘Creased Impressions on the Imagined Surface of Becoming’
Alex Garsden’s ‘tolle lege, tolle lege’