Alexandra Spence and Mathew Hopkins - Humming Grotto
NOMINATION: Luminary - State and Territory
NOMINATION: Luminary - State and Territory
The Luminary Awards seek to honour individuals and organisations who, through sustained contribution (demonstrated over a period 3-5 years prior), have impacted their communities on a state or territory level through visionary leadership, fearless trailblazing, high-level artistic practice, and championing of Australian repertoire.
Nominations for individuals should demonstrate a program of activities or a range of projects rather than (for example) the recording and release of a single album. Nominations for a single work or project should be made in the Work of the Year or Excellence categories.
If you believe you are nominated in the wrong category or the details of your nomination to be incorrect, please contact the AMC via email at awards@australianmusiccentre.com.au before proceeding with the nomination.
Humming Grotto is a long running series of experimental music performances at Petersham Bowling Club, Sydney. From a small space in a dingy bowling club basement, it has had an outsized impact on the local experimental scene and is an integral, under-appreciated part of the music landscape of this city. The event was tirelessly organised by MP Hopkins and Alexandra Spence. Humming Grotto has seen some of Australia's best experimental musicians through its door since it's inception in 2018 - including many previous Art Music Award winners and finalists such as Bree Van Reyk, Ben Carey, Sonya Holowell, Aviva Endean and many, many more. It's also been a touchstone for international artists touring Australia too, with acclaimed musicians such as Berlin-based Jasmine Guffond, who has released music on labels such as Editions Mego, Peruvian guitarist and composer Ale Hop to name a few recent choices. Additionally, it has provided an indispensable space for local artists to present new projects, collaborations, and created space for emerging artists to perform and showcase their work too. These kinds of spaces that foster and encourage creativity are essential. For audiences, Humming Grotto became a place to see something new; someone you've never heard before or someone you know doing something completely different. Alex and Matthew carved out a space to experiment in an otherwise largely commercialised music scene and garnered an open minded audience in the process - which became more than an audience, eventually, but a community. Committed to a DIY ethos, they dedicated a lot of their time to this without remuneration and little recognition.