From international recording to roo damage: the APRA Professional Development Awards 2017 winners

They may not be as glam as the full-blown APRA Awards, but in some ways the APRA Professional Development Awards are even more meaningful for the lucky recipients. Over bagels and coffee in Glebe’s Nude Bar on Tuesday morning, nine Australian creatives – including six women – were announced as the beneficiaries of the 2017 PDAs, which are worth $15,000 each, as well as the $12,000 Smugglers Of Light prize.

FIfteen grand is not nothing to any musician, but as event emcee Chit Chat pointed out, it actually goes further in 2017 than when he was a full-time musician.

“[$15,000] used to get you a quarter of a video clip, and maybe seven days in a studio. Now, fifteen grand will get you a camera, a studio, a director for your video clip, the software to make that clip, and a return trip to South By Southwest. So weirdly, we’re better off.”

Sophie Payten aka Gordi, whose Pop/Contemporary PDA marked both her first ever physical trophy (“I might put it on top of my harmonium!”) as well as the first acceptance speech of her career, underlined how important such prizes are and how unique in the global music industry Australia’s artistic grants and prizes program is.

“I wouldn’t have done half the things that I’ve done without those [grants], I can’t stress that enough,” Payten told TMN.

“There’s always a political, you know, push and pull, and there’s always improvements to be made – but I think on the whole Australia does super well. You tell people in the States, ‘I just got a grant for $15,000’ and they’re like, ‘From who?’”

Acclaimed composer Nigel Westlake also presented the Smugglers of Light prize, awarded in memory of his late son Eli, to Indigenous poet/composer Eric Avery.

The prizegiving was bookended by performances from winners Ainslie Wills and Fanny Lumsden – who noted that at least part of her PDA would go to repairing damage sustained on her tireless touring. “We hit a couple of roos on the way here yesterday!”

The full list of winners:

• Ainslie Wills – Popular Contemporary
• Julia Jacklin – Popular Contemporary
• Sophie Payten (Gordi) – Popular Contemporary
• Jess Beck – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
• Julian Day - Classical
• Fanny Lumsden - Country
• Nick Drabble (Set Mo) – Dance/Electronic
• Damien Lane – Film and Television
• Andrea Keller - Jazz

Photo (from left): Lumsden, Wills, Beck, Lane, Drabble, Payten, Keller