India's Zakir Hussain and Pakistan's Zarsanga among Aga Khan Music Awards 2022 winners

The triennial event aims to preserve musical heritage stretching from the Middle East and North Africa to South Asia

Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain performing in Mumbai. AFP

The Aga Khan Music Awards 2022 announced its 10 winners with an eclectic list of artists spanning genres ranging from Pashtun folk to West African blues.

All winners will receive cash prizes totalling $500,000 in a glittering ceremony to be held at the Royal Opera House Muscat from October 29 to 31.

First awarded in 2019, the triennial celebration is held under the auspices of the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim community, with the aim of supporting artists and preserving the musical heritage in areas such as the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and North Africa.

“Music can serve as a cultural anchor, deepening a sense of community, identity and heritage, while simultaneously reaching out in powerful ways to people of different backgrounds,” reads the award statement.

“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.”

The winners were chosen by a jury consisting of international arts professionals including Sheika Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, the director general for Bahrain's Authority for Culture and Antiquities, and British dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.

Here are five of the winners from this year’s Aga Khan Music Awards.

1. Afel Bocoum (Mali)

The singer and musician combines acoustic guitar with local instruments to develop a sound described as “desert blues.” Bocoum also collaborated with Blur singer Damon Albarn on the successful 2002 album Mali Music.

2. Zakir Hussain (India)

The musician has been acknowledged for his three-decade career that saw him elevate the status of the Indian percussive instrument, the tabla, and building cultural bridges through various world tours.

3. Peni Candra Rini (Indonesia)

Her expert knowledge of traditional Indonesian performing arts made Rini an in-demand educator at home, in addition to being an acclaimed artist abroad.

4. Zarsanga (Pakistan)

Known as the “Queen of Pashtun Folklore”, Zarsanga’s five-decade career has been devoted to the traditional music and poetry of tribal Pashtuns.

5. Yahya Hussein Abdallah (Tanzania)

The dynamic singer and composer of devotional Islamic songs has released pieces in Swahili and in more than a dozen of Tanzania’s 126 local languages.

The full list of winners is available at www.the.akdn

Lebanese guesthouse among winners of 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture — in pictures

The renovation of Niemeyer Guest House is one of six winners of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Photo: Cemal Emden / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

On the outskirts of the city, the building stands inside an entrance to the Rachid Karami International Fair. Photo: Cemal Emden / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The single-storey guesthouse has been transformed by East Architecture Studio. Photo: Cemal Emden / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Argo Contemporary Art Museum and Cultural Centre in Tehran, Iran, will also share the $1 million prize pot. Photo: Deed Studio / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The jury described it as an 'untypical' reuse and conservation project. Photo: Deed Studio / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

A former brewery has been transformed into a private museum for contemporary art. Photo: Deed Studio / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

It has spaces for exhibitions, talks and film screenings across four floors. Photo: Deed Studio / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Senegal's Kamanar Secondary School is another winner. Photo: Amir Anoushfar / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The complex 'addresses the multiple scales of urbanism, landscape, architecture and building technologies with equal commitment and virtuosity'. Photo: Amir Anoushfar / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

A focus was put on the site's topography and flora. Photo: Amir Anoushfar / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

A grid of classroom pods are centred around pre-existing foliage. Photo: Amir Anoushfar / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Banyuwangi International Airport in East Java is among the winning projects. Photo: Mario Wibowo / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

It is inspired by the houses of the local Osing tribe and features two pitched-roof structures covered in grass. Photo: Mario Wibowo / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Inside Banyuwangi Airport. Photo: Mario Wibowo / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The roof structures are crowned with timber-frame, asymmetrical pyramidal skylights that pay homage to the traditional Banyuwangi headdress. Photo: Mario Wibowo / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Urban River Spaces is one of two Bangladeshi winners on the list. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

It is a former dump site that has been transformed into a multifunctional space used by communities in Jhenaidah. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

It is part of an initiative to clean up the Nabaganga River. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Future plans for this project include the introduction of walkways, gardens, cultural facilities and efforts to increase biodiversity in the area. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Six temporary community spaces of the Rohingya Response programme also made the list. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The project provides 'dignified, sensitive and ingenious response to emergency needs', jury members said. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Inside one of the spaces. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The project for the Rohingya Refugee Response. Photo: Asif Salman / Aga Khan Trust for Culture