By arts editor HELEN MUSA

The late Canberra musician Michael Sollis will be posthumously honoured with the ACT’s State and Territory Luminary Award at the 2026 Art Music Awards in Port Melbourne on Wednesday, August 19, recognising his outstanding contribution as an artistic leader, community facilitator, composer and educator.

Sollis died in Canberra on May 1 after a five year battle with bowel cancer. He was 40.

The award will be announced at the Art Music Awards in Port Melbourne, where artists and organisations from around the country will be recognised for their contribution to Australian music.

Hosted by Namila Benson, with guest presenters Aura Go and Connor D’Netto and music curated by Canberra’s Sia Ahmad, the awards will also honour internationally acclaimed Australian composer, educator and researcher Liza Lim with the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music.

Widely commissioned by leading orchestras and ensembles around the world, Lim’s work ranges from chamber music and orchestral compositions to five operas, including the large scale cycle Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus, praised internationally for its urgent call to ecological listening.

The State and Territory Luminary Awards recognise artists and organisations whose vision, leadership and commitment continue to shape the future of Australian music.

Alongside Sollis, the 2026 recipients are People’s Republic (NSW), honoured for its contribution as a venue, promoter and studio for new and experimental music; Melanie Walters (SA), recognised for her work as Principal Flute of the Adelaide Wind Orchestra, Artistic Director of Coruscalia Collective and a champion of new music; Chamber Made (Victoria), acknowledged for more than 35 years of innovative music and performance making; Van Diemen’s Band (Tasmania), recognised for its Sirens program; Alex Raineri (Queensland), honoured for his work as a musician, director and creator, and for creating opportunities through the Brisbane Music Festival; and Hannah Lee Tungate (Western Australia), recognised for the Tenth Muse Initiative and Women Composers Project.

The 2026 Art Music Awards will be held at The Timber Yard, Melbourne on Wednesday, August 19.

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