BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
LOCAL female musicians are set to be honoured for their inspirational music through the inaugural Zimbabwe Women in Music Awards (ZWMA) set for November 25, courtesy of a private voluntary organisation operating across Africa.
The awards will be hosted by Her TV Africa, a subsidiary of Her Network Africa, and will become an annual ceremony.
Awards spokesperson and Her Network Africa country director for Zimbabwe, Fungai Linda Mawada said the ZWMA will emphasise the significant role played by Zimbabwean women in music. “ We hope this will inspire and empower especially the younger generation to aspire for greater heights in the industry,” she said.
“The awards will honour music recorded and released between January 2019 and October 15 2020. It will also honour a female legend with the lifetime achievement award.”
Mawada said they realised there was no event in the country that celebrated the achievements of women in music.The new awards will recognise female recording artists, directors, producers and engineers in the country.
“The Zimbabwean Woman in Music Awards seek to pay tribute to women who have achieved success in their respective fields, have made a difference in the broader Zimbabwean music industry and have inspired others to follow,” she said, adding that nominees and winners will be women who have displayed exceptional capacity in a male-dominated industry. A panel of adjudicators will nominate potential winners.
Mawada said the awards, selection process will see a board of judges that will soon be announced to the public, given four weeks to make a selection of five songs in each category. She added that all the awards categories with the exception of the public vote song of the year and the lifetime achievement categories are adjudicated by the board of judges adding that the board of judges is reviewed annually and are selected for their integrity and expertise in their respective fields.
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“The selection committee selects music which in their opinion is best for the period. Artistes who however feel that their music may be overlooked can hand in their music to ZWMA offices or via email and social media.”
She said the same applies to artists who comprise of duos or groups. She said prizes and statuettes are awarded to the winning artist, producers, directors or engineers, with those nominated expected to attend the awards ceremony.
“Those who fail to attend the awards ceremony will not be eligible to receive the prize element of the award, nor will they receive the statuette. Exceptions to the rule will be considered provided the application is made by the nominee giving them notice of the inability to attend, with accompanying motivation to be received by ZWMA within 14 days of the nominees being announced,” she said.
She said the nominees would then be announced on November 11 with the winners to be announced at the awards ceremony scheduled for November 25.
