The Roger Hammond Memorial Trust Award will provide an annual award to Africans who show commitment and promise in the field of the musical arts. In particular, the Award will provide financial support for individuals that use the musical arts in ways that help bind and develop their communities and promote the message of sustainable development.

The Award is being developed in partnership with Prospero World, a charitable trust that specialises in helping charities that are successful and need investment.

The causes of poverty and environmental degradation are complex and interrelated. Different skills and perspectives are needed to understand the challenge and identify solutions. Science has a role to play but cultural transformation is more than just the application of technical knowledge and critical thinking. Choosing a new direction is an emotional as well as practical response to the world we live in. Music is a vital tool for bringing people together and helping them explore and express the common values and interests that underpin our collective future.

THE OBJECTIVE

The award will provide an environment for up-and-coming musician from Africa, whatever their circumstances or background, to develop artistically and creatively and as social change agents, including helping them to place their endeavours on a firm and potentially scalable financial footing. The award will be given annually and will cover composition and performance in all areas of the musical arts – solo instrument, voice, group, ensemble, orchestra, choir, electronic – and across all musical genres. It will also be open to musicians from any country in Africa, with the area of musical arts and the country being rotated annually. In line with the progressive aim of sustainable development, a particular interest of the Award is musical creativity that cuts across established musical cultures and boundaries and includes musical improvisation. The award offers significant international recognition in the form of public exhibitions including in the United Kingdom as well as in-country.

 

THE CRITERIA

 

  • Originality: does the nominee have a fresh and sustainable approach to the use of music as a tool for promoting positive social change. Is their idea truly transformational?

  • Determination: does the nominee have a track record of achieving change? Do they have an exceptional ability to solve problems? Have they demonstrated this in their personal as well as professional lives?

  • Imagination: does the nominee have the creative ability and adaptability to maintain the integrity of their vision as well as ensure its practical application?

  • Social Impact: Is the nominee’s idea likely to solve an important social problem at a widespread level? Can it be placed on a sustainable financial footing? Will it inspire others to adopt and replicate it? Is it scalable?

  • Character: does the nominee have integrity and how is this demonstrated? Their personal stories of how they came to do what they are now doing is therefore as, if not more, important as their professional record.

 

THE ELEMENTS

 

  • A space: to develop artistically including study opportunities and mentored support

  • An environment: to develop professionally including enterprise training and mentored support

  • A platform: to develop recognition and networks through performance and travel both in country and internationally

 

 

THE PROCESS

 

  • The trustees will make one award a year, choosing a different country and area of musical arts to support on an annual rotating basis.

  • Awards will be open to any individual regardless of age, gender, education or ethnicity.

  • Award winners will be identified and selected by the trustees of the Roger Hammond Memorial Trust with the support of an advisory committee

 

 

THE 2016/2017 AWARD

 

  • Country: Nigeria

  • Area of Musical Arts: Afrobeats

  • Award Partners: African Social Enterprise Fund, Musical Institute of Nigeria (MUSON) and (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), Prospero World, African Fashion Fund, Arts Global & the London Afrobeat Collective

  • Selection of Award Winner: August – October 2016 IDYL, Diongoli Daniel

  • Announcement of Award: November - December 2016 – in Nigeria at an event hosted by the Musical Institute of Nigeria (MUSON) in Nigeria; in the UK at an event hosted by Sotheby’s coinciding with the London Africa Investment Summit

  • Presentation of Award Achievements: November - December 2017 – in Nigeria and in the UK