The winners of the 2022 Australian Women in Music Awards were announced at a star-studded gala in Brisbane last night, with Deborah Cheetham, Elena Kats-Chenin and Genevieve Lacey each recognised for their artistic excellence.

Last night’s ceremony was the first AWMA able to be held in two years after COVID forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 editions, but the organisers made up for lost time by handing out 20 individual awards across all aspects of the industry, from performance and songwriting to journalism, photography and design.

Australian Women in Music Awards

(L-R) DJ RedBelly, Ancestress, Busty Beatz, Kween G, Dizzy Doolan, Lady Lash and Barkaa at the 2022 Australian Women in Music Awards. Photo © Elouise van Reit-Gray.

Yorta Yorta woman Deborah Cheetham received a Lifetime Achievement Award, with AWMA jurors in their citation writing that Cheetham was a trailblazer “whose voice spoke to much more than just music, forging a strong path forward for reconciliation in Australia”.

Kats-Chernin received an Artistic Excellence Award, the jurors noting that her international recognition “made her a great representative for Australian classical music and inspired many other female identifying composers”.

Lacey received an award for...