The Arts Foundation announce the four finalists of The Arts Foundation Futures Awards (AFFA) 2022 for Music for Change, supported by the PRS Foundation.
Max Barton & Jethro Cooke (Slowstepper), Eliza Shaddad, Love Ssega and Hanna Tuulikki were selected from a long list of nominated artists as finalists for the £10,000 Arts Foundation Futures Award 2022, Music for Change.
Exploring ecology, the environment and climate-related social issues, the Music for Change Award is a celebration of artists, musicians, composers, and experimental sound artists who have a track record focusing on the complex underlying themes related to the climate crisis.
The AFFA 2022 Music for Change Judges are: TV and Radio broadcaster, Edith Bowman; Folk Singer, Sam Lee; and Founder of Icebreaker One, Gavin Starks, who said:
“Our climate crisis affects us all. It cuts deeply into our sense of place, our cultures, and our individual senses of responsibility and agency. As an existential threat, it carries echoes of the Cold War and instils fear, panic and grief on a global scale. We need to address and express our collective climate grief and our hopes. Our arts and music are critical tools through which we can each find a voice, connect and share.
I was struck most deeply by the artists that sought to vocalise, express and develop utterances of this. I look to the exceptional AFFA 2022 Music for Changes Finalists, and all those working in this space to help us all engage and navigate. We are still at the beginning of our climate journey – there is an urgent, pressing need to form cultural responses to the crisis of our generation.”
Edith Bowman added:
“It was an honour to be asked to be part of this amazing prize. What a fantastic level of talent and creativity that was thoroughly inspiring. It’s not always easy to incorporate certain issues and important causes into music but our finalists have found a way to use their voice for the greater good. Each finalist is very unique and I’m thrilled by the diversity of talent across the award, celebrating different cultures.”
The Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2022 supports and celebrates artists for both their work to date and future development. The recipient of the £10,000 award for Music for Change will be announced along with awards in four other art forms (Animation, Materials Innovation Theatre-Makers, and Visual Arts) at a celebration event in late January 2022 – with all finalists receiving £1,000 awards towards their artistic practice.
To find out more about the artists, please visit the AFFA 2022 page.
Read the Press Release here.
For Images, please view the Press Pack here.
For all enquiries and interviews please contact:
Mary Jane Edwards, Interim Director, The Arts Foundation
info@artsfoundation.co.uk / +44 (0) 7969 029 656