Auckland City of Music has announced the names of six recipients of the Equaliser Grant for 2021. 

EQ is a mixed workshop/seminar/network format that provides professional development, mentorship and ongoing network support to female music and screen sector professionals. It is a global initiative by UNESCO Cities of Music to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Musician applicants were asked to submit a song that’s planned for a 2022 release, with the idea that the successful applicants be paired with synergistic director applicants to producing filmed content (music videos, visualisers etc) to support the release of that music.

Two separate selection panels appraised over 120 submissions for the three project grants of $10,000 available. The musicians selected were Grace Moller, Lou’ana Pereira-Dinnan and Reshma Martin, a pop artist who grew up in NZ and as a teenager has made a splash in a reality singing competition in her native Malaysia. The matched directors are Faye McNeil, Anna Duckworth and Jolin Lee.