The Aga Khan Music Awards

Aga Khan Development Network

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The Aga Khan Music Awards are triennial prizes recognizing exceptional musicians from societies where Muslims have a significant presence, offering a shared prize fund of $500,000 plus professional development support including commissions, recording projects, and educational initiatives.

Award Amount

$500,000 shared prize fund + development grants USD

Scholarship Type

merit-based

Eligibility Criteria

islamic-heritage-music
preservation
promotion
cultural-heritage
global

Instruments

traditionalworld-musicislamic-instrumentsmultiple

The Aga Khan Music Awards are triennial prizes recognizing exceptional creativity, promise, and enterprise in musical performance, creation, education, and preservation across societies where Muslims have a significant presence. Laureates share a prize fund of $500,000 and receive professional development support including new commissions, recording projects, and management assistance. The program operates under the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

How the Aga Khan Music Awards Work

The awards follow a three-year cycle. The first ceremony was held in 2019, the second in 2022, and the third in 2025. An independent jury selects winners from a pool of nominees. For the 2025 cycle, a seven-member jury chose 11 laureates from over 400 nominees.

The awards recognize musicians across multiple categories:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Honors an artist with a lifelong dedication to preserving and transmitting musical heritage.
Patron's Award: Celebrates musical lineages and traditions with historical significance.
Performance and Creation Awards: Recognize individual artists and ensembles for exceptional artistry and innovation.
Education and Preservation Awards: Support musicians who teach, document, and revitalize endangered traditions.

In addition to cash prizes, laureates are eligible for multi-year development support grants. They are invited to propose music-centered projects aligned with the Aga Khan Music Programme's mission, which include recording projects, new commissions, educational initiatives, and preservation work.

2025 Laureates

The third cycle ceremony took place from November 20 to 23, 2025, at the Southbank Centre in London, presented in partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival. This marked the first time the awards were held in the United Kingdom. The 11 laureates came from Morocco, Bahrain, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, India, Mali, Palestine, Greece, Pakistan, and Senegal.

Notable 2025 winners include:

Mariam Bagayoko (Mali): Lifetime Achievement Award for her work preserving Mali's musical heritage, particularly among women and girls.
Ustad Naseeruddin Saami (Pakistan): Patron's Award for his mastery of khyal singing.
Warsi Brothers (India): Patron's Award for their qawwali tradition tracing back to Amir Khusrau.
Kamilya Jubran (Palestine): Recognition for pushing the boundaries of contemporary Arabic music through the oud.
Sahba Aminikia (Iran/USA): Founder of the Flying Carpet Festival, bringing music to children displaced by war.
Qalali Folk Band (Bahrain): Preserving the traditional music of the nation's pearl-diving heritage.

Real-World Example

A traditional musician from Mali who has spent decades teaching the balafon to younger generations could be nominated for the Aga Khan Music Awards. If selected as a laureate, they would receive a share of the $500,000 prize fund. Beyond the cash prize, they could propose a project such as documenting their regional repertoire through recordings, establishing a formal teaching program, or commissioning new works that bridge their tradition with contemporary music. The Aga Khan Music Programme would then collaborate with them to fund and execute that project over multiple years.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

The Aga Khan Music Awards are not a scholarship you apply to directly. Musicians are nominated by peers, institutions, and cultural organizations. If you are a musician working in traditions connected to Islamic cultural heritage, whether devotional music, indigenous classical traditions, or folk music, building visibility is the most important step.

Record and document your work thoroughly. Connect with cultural institutions and music academics who can submit nominations. The jury evaluates artistic excellence, cultural significance, and the impact of the musician's work on their community. Musicians who teach and preserve endangered traditions receive particular attention.

For the next cycle (expected in 2028), start building your nomination portfolio now. The competition is global, with over 400 nominees narrowed to roughly 11 laureates. A strong nomination package includes performance recordings, documentation of cultural impact, letters of support from recognized institutions, and evidence of community engagement.

Past Recipients

2019 Laureates (Lisbon, Portugal)

The inaugural ceremony took place from March 29 to 31, 2019, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. Notable winners include:

Zakir Hussain (India): Lifetime Achievement Award for his mastery of the tabla and contributions to global music.
Alim Qasimov (Azerbaijan): Recognition for his vocal artistry in the mugham tradition.
Salar Aghili (Iran): Performance and Creation Award for his work in Persian classical vocal music.
Firas Charest (Syria/Canada): Recognition for his work building new musical bridges between Arabic and Western traditions.
Aga Khan Master Musicians: A collective of performers, composers, and educators who create new music drawing on traditions from across the Muslim world.

2022 Laureates (Muscat, Oman)

The second ceremony took place from October 29 to 30, 2022, at the Royal Opera House Muscat. 15 laureates were selected from close to 400 nominees across 42 countries. Notable winners include:

Zakir Hussain (India): Special Award for Lifetime Achievement, recognizing his peerless musical mastery and sustained social impact as a performer and teacher.
Afel Bocoum (Mali): Recognition for his work preserving and advancing Malian musical traditions.
Soumik Datta (UK): Recognition for his innovative approach to the sarod and cross-cultural collaborations.
Peni Candra Rini (Indonesia): Recognition for her work in Javanese vocal traditions.
Daud Khan Sadozai (Afghanistan): Recognition for his efforts to preserve and promote Afghan classical music.
Yasamin Shahhosseini (Iran): Recognition for her mastery of the santur and Persian classical music.

2025 Laureates (London, UK)

The third ceremony took place from November 20 to 23, 2025, at the Southbank Centre. 11 laureates were selected from over 400 nominees. Notable winners include:

Mariam Bagayoko (Mali): Lifetime Achievement Award for preserving Mali's musical heritage among women and girls.
Ustad Naseeruddin Saami (Pakistan): Patron's Award for his mastery of khyal singing.
Warsi Brothers (India): Patron's Award for their qawwali tradition tracing back to Amir Khusrau.
Kamilya Jubran (Palestine): Recognition for pushing the boundaries of contemporary Arabic music through the oud.
Sahba Aminikia (Iran/USA): Founder of the Flying Carpet Festival, bringing music to children displaced by war.
Qalali Folk Band (Bahrain): Preserving the traditional music of the nation's pearl-diving heritage.

Step-by-Step Application Process

The Aga Khan Music Awards do not accept direct applications. Musicians are nominated by peers, institutions, and cultural organizations. Here is how the process works:

Build your body of work. Create, perform, teach, or preserve music connected to Islamic cultural heritage. Document your work through recordings, videos, and written records.
Connect with cultural institutions. Build relationships with music academics, cultural organizations, and institutions that can submit nominations on your behalf. The jury evaluates artistic excellence, cultural significance, and community impact.
Wait for the nomination cycle to open. The awards follow a three-year cycle. The next cycle is expected in 2028. Nominations typically open 12 to 18 months before the ceremony.
Prepare your nomination package. A strong package includes performance recordings, documentation of cultural impact, letters of support from recognized institutions, and evidence of community engagement.
Jury review. An independent jury reviews all nominations. For the 2025 cycle, a seven-member jury selected 11 laureates from over 400 nominees.
Ceremony and awards. Selected laureates share a $500,000 prize fund and receive professional development support, including commissions, recording projects, and educational initiatives.