The recipients of the 2024 Creative Australia Awards have been announced.

This year marks the second year of the awards, which replaced the Australia Council Awards after the establishment of Creative Australia.

Amanda Brown. Photo © Daniel Boud

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown has earned the Don Banks Music Award, one of the nation’s highest honours for an established composer with a $25,000 cash prize.

A prolific screen composer and songwriter, Brown was the violinist of The Go-Betweens from 1986–89. As a session musician, she’s recorded and performed with artists and groups including R.E.M, Silverchair, Youth Group, Josh Pyke, David Bridie and Toni Collette.

Since 2000, Brown has worked as a screen composer. Her feature film discography includes Son of A Lion, Monkey Puzzle, Kairos, Babyteeth, Brazen Hussies and Here Out West. She has won three Screen Music Awards and received five nominations and recently was a co-recipient of the 2024 Award for Best Original Song, for Carry You from RFDS. 

Brown has also won two AACTA Awards for Best Original Score (Babyteeth and Brazen Hussies), the Venice Film Festival’s Soundtrack Stars Critics Prize, an IF Award for Best Musuc and World of Women’s Cinema Film Festival’s Best...