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The globally recognized Aga Khan Music Awards (AKMA) 2025 will make its debut in London, spanning four days from November 20 to 23.
As stated in a press release, the event will take place at the Southbank Centre, utilizing the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and The Purcell Room.
The awards celebrate the rich musical diversity in communities around the world where Muslims have a considerable influence. The AKMA welcomes all nominees, regardless of their faith.
These awards honor remarkable musicians and artists committed to preserving, reviving, and reinterpreting devotional music and poetry, indigenous classical styles, traditional folk music, and contemporary works inspired by traditions rooted in Islam.
This marks the third tri-annual AKMA. The first awards were held in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2019, followed by the second edition in Muscat, Oman, in 2022.
Notable past winners include Pakistan’s Zarsanga, celebrated as the Queen of Pashtun Folklore for her dedication to traditional Pashto music, and Sain Zahoor, renowned in Punjabi Sufi music for his heartfelt performances of devotional poetry.
Other former laureates include British-Indian multi-instrumentalist Soumik Datta, Mali’s Oumou Sangaré, Indonesian artist Peni Candra Rini, and the late Ustaad Zakir Hussain from India.
The winners share a prize pool of $500,000 and enjoy access to various professional opportunities like commissions, recordings, management contracts, and support for educational and preservation projects.
The awards acknowledge individuals, groups, and institutions whose contributions help sustain and evolve musical traditions. In line with the Aga Khan Music Programme’s broader mission, the awards promote pluralism, tolerance, and global understanding through music at a time of widespread conflict and division.
The 2025 edition is held under the patronage of Prince Rahim Aga Khan V and his uncle, Prince Amyn Aga Khan.
This chapter signifies both continuity and remembrance, honoring the legacy of the awards’ founder and chair, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, whose unwavering belief in music’s power to unite, uplift, and transcend inspires the essence of the awards.
The awards’ creation reaffirmed Prince Karim’s conviction that music transcends cultural boundaries, serving as a force for dignity, hope, shared humanity, and connection across diverse cultures, generations, and locations.
“I am proud to further a vision deeply rooted in my father’s belief in music’s ability to unite cultures and uplift the human spirit. The Aga Khan Music Awards embody values central to the Aga Khan Development Network: pluralism, intercultural dialogue, and the profound bonds communities discover through music,” said Prince Rahim.
“In many regions we serve, music is woven into the fabric of everyday life, intricately linked to the rhythms of prayer, celebration, memory, and identity. We remain committed to supporting artists and traditions that resonate with both heritage and hope.”
The AKMA 2025 will be held in collaboration with the EFG London Jazz Festival. “We are thrilled to provide a platform at the EFG London Jazz Festival for artists from the Aga Khan Music Awards,” remarked EFG London Jazz Festival Director Pelin Opcin.
“Our shared values of dialogue, collaboration, and connection align perfectly, and we celebrate the freedoms and expressive qualities found across these diverse and unique musical genres.”
Nominations for AKMA 2025 opened in April 2024, soliciting contributions from a distinguished international panel of performing artists and music experts, including educators, scholars, producers, arts presenters, and representatives from civil society and cultural development organizations.
The winners are selected by an independent master jury appointed by the awards’ co-chairs. Jurors include prominent performers, composers, festival directors, music scholars, and leaders in arts education. The jury determines both the number of awards and specific areas of activity for each award cycle.
Individuals directly affiliated with the Aga Khan’s institutions are not eligible for consideration.
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