Famed Pakistani Sufi singer Saieen Zahoor Ahmed and famous Pashto singer Zarsanga have been named the laureates of the 2022 Aga Khan Music Awards, according to a press release.
Zahoor and Zarsanga have been recognised for their exceptional creativity in the Pakistani music industry. Zarsanga hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is widely known as the Queen of Pashtun Folklore.
According to media reports, the award recipients will share a prize fund of $500,000 as well as opportunities for their professional development in their respective music industries.
The prize fund could potentially prompt access or grants of commissions for the production of new works, contracts from recordings and artist management, technical or curatorial consultancies for music archiving, preservation and dissemination projects.
The triennial awards, established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 2018, honour the music societies around the world with a significant Muslim presence. The music awards reflect the opinion of His Highness the Aga Khan who considers music to serve as a cultural anchor that connects people of different backgrounds.
For the unversed, His Highness the Aga Khan is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis. His Highness Aga Khan is known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and as Aga Khan IV elsewhere.
In naming the laureates, the Awards Master Jury expressed its desire to support as many outstanding nominees as possible from the geographically and culturally diverse pool of close to 400 nominations in a time of urgent need for musicians and music educators.
While contributing to the preservation and ongoing development of musical heritage, many of the laureates draw on the power of music to raise awareness about social and environmental issues.
Recipients and winners of the Aga Khan Music Awards will be celebrated during a ceremony in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, in accordance with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture on 29-31 October 2022.
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