Oram Award Series

Born in Dublin, based in London and New York, VIVIENNE GRIFFIN makes sculptures, drawings and audio works in their anti-disciplinary practice. The voice, vernacular language and noise are used in text works (2D and aural) and free poetic form is applied to assemblages of objects (found and made). They are currently focussing on the problematics of hyperindividualism in a new body of work and the uses of sound (and/or silence), dance music, meditation, singing and podcasts as means of transcendence of the self. Their work seeks emancipation from the apathy of banality: entangled with everyday life it implicates the ordinary as rare.

OULAN combines the sonic forces of Loula Yorke (electronics) and Una Lee (vocals), co-recipients of the Oram Award 2020. This exciting collaboration inspires the two artists to bring their best elements to the improvisational table: Lee's sublime vocal work navigates in real-time through her diverse musical languages, arriving in an eerie envelopment of Yorke's ephemeral, aleatoric electronics, producing a dynamic, colourful yet intimate soundscape.

The Oram Awards is a platform for innovation in sound, music, and related technologies. With the support of lead partners The Radiophonic Institute, PRS Foundation and the British Council, the aim of the awards is to elevate the work and voices of Women, Trans and Non-Binary music creators in electronic music.

Named after Daphne Oram, one of the founding members of the original BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the awards aim to build on her legacy. Along with other women in the workshop, Oram played a vital role in establishing women at the forefront of innovation in newly-emerging audio technologies not only in the UK but around the world.