We celebrate the unusual, the unique and the unfiltered creative worlds of women and gender-diverse artists experimenting with sound, music and technology.

• Unusual (different or rare)
• Unique (one of a kind)
• Unfiltered (honest and raw)

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Who can apply

You can apply if you:

• Identify as a woman, trans, non-binary or gender diverse.
• Are 18 years old or older.
• Live in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

• You do not need a degree in music.
• You do not need to be well-known or famous.
• You can be a performer, a composer, an engineer or a producer of sound.
• We only look at your creativity and your passion.

What you can win

We will choose 5 artists to win. Each winner gets:

• £1,500 in money to spend however you want.
• Mentorship to help your career. We work with you to select a mentor bespoke to your need.
• On-going support from the Oram Awards team.

Who we are looking for

This year, we will choose:

• 2 artists from England
• 1 artist from Scotland
• 1 artist from Wales*
• 1 artist from Northern Ireland

*We welcome applications in the Welsh language and are working with a translator to ensure that there are no delays in response or communication if your application is in Welsh.

We particularly want to hear from you if you identify as:

• Disabled*
• Global Majority**
• LGBTQIA+
• Working class

We are committed to awarding at least 2 artists who identify as Disabled.

We are working with Drake Music to support Disabled applicants.

Drake Music is the leading national organisation working in music, disability and technology

You can learn more about them on their website by clicking here.

*Disabled: We use ‘Disabled Person’ as an inclusive umbrella term to include all people who identify and experience disabling barriers based on The Social Model of Disability. We also include people who may not use this terminology but who do experience disability discrimination under the Equalities Act 2010. Read an Article about the Social Model of Disability and language by Disability Rights UK here.

**Global Majority: is an inclusive, empowering term for people of African, Asian, Indigenous, Latin American, or mixed-heritage backgrounds. Coined by educator Rosemary Campbell-Stephens.

How to apply

The deadline to apply is Sunday 19 July 2026 at 11:59 PM.

We will tell you the results on Thursday 13 August 2026.

The application itself asks:

• Basic information about you and how you identify
• a link to your website (Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Spotify, Instagram, Facebook are also accepted if you don’t have a website)
• 5 questions about your creative practice which require no more than 150 – 200 word answers
• 3 links to audio or video examples of your work of no more than 5 minutes long each

For the 5 questions about your creative practice you can either do:

• An online written form
• A downloaded written form, sent to us via email
• Record a video response
• Record an audio response

Click here to Apply Now

Accessibility

Access support is available to those who need it. Click the Access tab on our website for more information or please contact palm@oramawards.com if you have any questions.

We understand that online form filling can be challenging so we have produced alternative formats:

• Online application form
• Fillable application form (PDF)
• Application transcript – TEXT ONLY (word)

If you would like to download a form instead and email it to us as an attachment please feel free to do so.

Send it to karen@oramawards.com with the subject:

‘Oram Awards 2026 application – [Your Name]’

If you make a mistake or realise you forgot to do something after submitting your application it is not a problem.

Please just email us to let us know.

If we notice something missing we will email you.

How to apply webinar

We will run an online drop-in meeting to explain who we are and how to apply, with the opportunity for a Q&A with participants on Friday 19 June at 1pm: 

• Webinar link : https://zoom.us/j/91845964156

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We will also make the recording of this video available online to refer back to.

Important dates to remember

• Friday 19th June at 1pm – how to apply webinar
• Sunday 19 July at 11:59pm – deadline for applications
• Thursday 13th August – applicants notified of outcome

As we are a small team, we can only offer feedback if you reach the shortlist stage.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Oram Awards is a PRS Foundation Talent Development Network Partner supported by PPL.