Presented by PRS Foundation and The Radiophonic Institute, The Oram Awards recognise emerging women and gender expansive artists who are innovators in the fields of music, sound and related technologies in honour of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Daphne Oram, and other pioneering women and gender expansive music creators in music and sound.

Named after Daphne Oram, one of the founding members of the original BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the awards hope to build on her legacy. Daphne worked at the workshop with others including Delia Derbyshire, Glynis Jones, Jenyth Worsley, Maddalena Fagandini and Elizabeth Parker, creating music for the distant future, the distant past and inside the mind. She played a vital role in establishing women at the forefront of innovation, in newly emerging audio technologies, in the UK and around the world. Fast forward to today and whilst there are many women and gender expansive music creators innovating in music and sound, their work and their voices often struggle to be heard and we’re missing the opportunity to celebrate role models for the next generation.

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This year there will be 6 winners and the ceremony will take place in November at Kings Place, London.

• 2 of the winners will receive special commendations and development bursaries of £1,000
• 4 winners receive development bursaries of £750 from PRS Foundation.
• All 6 winners will be presented with a physical award and will have access to The Oram Awards Mentoring Program

The Oram Awards are targeted at the next generation of innovative women and gender expansive music creators who are innovators in music, sound and related technologies, rather than established names.

The Oram Awards are targeted at the next generation of innovative women and gender expansive artists in music and sound.

There is only one category: innovation in sound, music and associated technologies.

Applicants will need to meet the following criteria:

• Age 18+
• Are Women or Gender Expansive (Trans, Non-Binary, Agender, Gender Fluid, Genderqueer)
• are based in the United Kingdom;
• create high quality original new music and sound;
• innovate in sound, music and associated technologies;
• through their work have demonstrated that they are deserving of increased recognition;
• are ready for this opportunity and will use the PRS Foundation bursary and Oram Awards mentorship program for future creative and professional development.

Partners will prioritise women and gender expansive music creators who are not yet established names, as well as those not already being supported by Next Steps PRS Foundation programmes such as the PPL Momentum Music Fund, The Hitmaker Fund, The Composers’ Fund and New Music Biennial.

Applications are welcomed from those based anywhere in the UK, and we are particularly interested in seeing applications from those based in underrepresented regions of the UK

• The 2023 winners will be announced on Tuesday 31st October

The 2022 winners were Ella Kay, Amble Skuse, Kelly Jayne Jones, Lia Mazzari, Lula.xyz and Amy Cutler with the ceremony taking place as part of Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF).

The 2021 winners were Magz Hall, Vivienne Griffin, Lia Mice, Lou Barnell, Maria Sappho, Venus Ex Machina. The online awards & panel event took place in partnership with Brimingham based experimental music festival Supersonic.

The recipients of the award in 2020 were Loula Yorke, Nicole Raymond (NikNak), Poulomi Desai, Una Lee, Vicky Clarke & Yifeat Ziv. Due to Covid the live ceremony was replaced with an evening of exclusive sets on SonitusLIVE/Twitch digital platform.

The 2019 winners were Nwando Ebizie, Ain Bailey, CHAINES, Natalie Sharp, Steph Horak and Andie Brown with a presentation ceremony at Kings Place, London as part of Venus Unwrapped Festival.

2018 recognised Georgia Rodgers, Loraine James, Francine Perry, Hannah Jones and Aja Ireland with the presentation ceremony taking place at BlueDot Festival at Jodrell Bank Telescope, Cheshire.

2017 saw Ewa Justka, Klein, Claire M Singer, Elvin Brandhi, Kathy Hinde, Mary Stark, Sally Golding and Shelly Knots picking up awards at the inaugural event at Turner Contemporary, Margate. Klein has gone on to critical acclaim in the likes of Pitchfork, The Fader and The Wire, Ewa’s talent creating innovative electronic instruments has been featured in Resident Advisor and Electronic Beats amongst others.

More info on the winners can be found at: www.oramawards.com 

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