APRA AMCOS have announced the 2025 APRA Professional Development Award recipients, a diversely talented group of five music creatives that includes; David Feauai-Afaese (LEAO), Hannah Lubamba (Jujulipps), Seth Haapu, Karoline Park-Tamati MNZM (Ladi6), and Jesse Austin-Stewart.
Each recipient receives $10,000 to contribute towards the next step of their career enhancement, from mentorship and internships, craft development, to attending art residencies and upskilling camps. The award is intended to help artists develop their skills domestically or internationally, where absence of funds has been a road block.
David Feauai-Afaese is an Auckland-based Samoan artist, screen composer, and music coordinator/director dedicated to uplifting Pacific cultures, people, and stories through music. Their project LEAO merges Samoan language and musical forms with post-punk and jangle-pop, and David also part of the duo Hanisi Garue, composing original Pacific scores to small and big screen projects.
Born in South Africa and raised in Aotearoa, Jujulipps creates a bold, boundary-pushing sound that fuses trap, Afrobeats, punk, and electronica. Winner of the Best Independent Debut at the 2023 Taite Music Awards, Jujulipps is known for her high-energy live performances and sharp lyricism.
Seth Haapu is a musician, producer, and psychologist who has written, produced and performed for and with Stan Walker, Maisey Rika, Teeks, Rob Ruha, and Sons of Zion. Seth’s musical output includes film soundtracks and his current doctoral research examines waiata as a healing practice for rangatahi Māori.
Honoured as a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in 2021, and an Arts Foundation laureate in 2023, Ladi6 is an Aotearoa pioneer of soulful, beat-driven music – blending hip hop and modular electronic soundscapes.
Dr Jesse Austin-Stewart (he/him) is a composer, sound artist, and producer. As a sound artist and composer Jesse’s work explores ways to make the field more inclusive. He has composed for contemporary dance and film and created performance art works and sound installations.
