Aussie music giants UNIFIED have unveiled the five lucky winners of their first ever $25,000 career development grant.
Five upstart non-music-playing creatives have bagged $5,000 cash apiece to go towards achieving their dreams of working in the industry through alternative avenues.
Out of close to 200 applicants from across the globe, the victorious five — chosen by UNIFIED’s dedicated panel — are:
Michelle Grace Hunder & Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore – “Her Sound, Her Story”:
A collaborative art project that contributes to the narrative of women in the Australian Music Industry through photography and film.
Georgia Beach – “Office Gossip Design”:
A Darwin-based, Indigenous-focused company that aims to “bridge the gap between creators and their community through graphic design”.
Aaron Dobos – Producer/Engineer/Mixer:
A Melbourne-based pro who wants to set up his own space to work with up-and-coming Aussie bands with limited budgets to produce “a world-class sound that previously may have been out of reach”.
Ashleigh Hills – “Tram Sessions”:
A Melbourne initiative that brings live music to unsuspecting commuters, which has hosted over 100 artists since its 2010 launch including Paul Kelly, Josh Pyke, Paul Dempsey and Hands Like Houses.
Neal Walters – Photography:
An established professional music photographer who’s currently working on a photography book, featuring portraits of people in the music industry in their “happy place”.
“Reading close to two hundred applications gave me so much inspiration and excitement,” says UNIFIED CEO Jaddan Comerford, who unveiled the grant program during his keynote speech at this year’s BIGSOUND conference.
“It’s great to see so many amazing people out there with ideas that are contributing to Australian culture. We are very proud to support the industry and the future growth and health of it. Choosing five winners was near impossible, but we got there, and I couldn’t be more proud to be awarding The Unified Grant to these extraordinary individuals.”
The UNIFIED Grant will once again be open for applications in 2017, offering grants to all those with “original ideas behind the scenes of the music industry”, including but not limited to photographers, producers, videographers, web developers, graphic designers, journalists, app builders and data analysts.
Catch a video of the 2016 Unified Grant winners below, alongside a gallery of some of Unified Grant 2016 recipient Neal Walters’ favourite live photos — and the stories behind them.
The Unified Grant – 2016 Recipients
Gallery: Unified Grant Winner Neal Walters’ Favourite Shots
Neal Walters Photo Diary
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Enter Shikari
Backstage at this year's Enter Shikari show in Melbourne, I explained what a shoey was to the guys. So, of course, this happened on stage. -
Northlane
On the last night of the Equinox tour, I was taking a crowd shot from behind the kit. Josh Smith gave me his standard ‘come take my photo’ look. Easily my favourite shot I’ve ever taken, as it was a sold out hometown show for the boyos. -
Hellions
This is Dre from Hellions. That’s all that needs to be explained for this shot. -
Parkway Drive
Winston from Parkway at this year's Unify Gathering. Right place, right time. -
Northlane
My first time shooting Northlane and the 2015 Unify Gathering. My most shared photo to date, and easily the biggest fluke of my career. -
Architects
A shot I look back on with very fond memories. Architects at the Roundhouse in 2015. The last night I saw my friend Tom. -
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots at Groovin the Moo. Again, fair bit of luck to this shot. Huge thank you to their lighting guy. -
Crossfaith
Crossfaith in Japan. Very lucky to witness and photograph such a huge and special show for the guys. -
Tonight Alive
My very good friend Jen, whilst playing a Rage Against The Machine cover, and just after she’d stuck up for a fan that hadn’t been treated with respect by security. -
Northlane
Northlane at their sold out show in England. One of the first times in my photography career that I stopped and appreciated how lucky I was to be in the position I am.
