Business of the Year
Vola Foods
Founded by Ashley Vola. Cameroonian cuisine, taken to the Australian table. A staple business, and the backdrop to a thousand nights.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
The 2024 AMARI Gala
Still We Rise.
Pullman on the Park, Melbourne. 23 March 2024. Thirteen awards. The first record of the night.
The night
The inaugural AMARI Gala took its place at Pullman on the Park. A room of founders, performers, athletes and the people who carry the work. The theme, Still We Rise, framed the evening. The winners gave it weight.
Community & Business
The builders.
Entrepreneur of the Year
Habiba Ahmed
Founder of 4th Trimester. Postpartum and maternal support for mothers, built on rigour, information and trust. Second-generation Somali. Mother of two.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Social Impact Award
Shooters Shoot
Melbourne charity, basketball as the vehicle. Access, mentoring and life-skills programmes for young people. Years of work behind the result.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Creative Arts
The makers.
Musical Artist of the Year
SOLI
Australian R&B. Touring 2023 with Tones and I and Macklemore. A 2023 release that earned critical attention. Range across identity, resilience, voice.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Content Creator of the Year
Bittersweet Podcast
Directed and produced by Wintana Kidane and Rahel Ephrem. Conversation, sharp on culture, sharper on the moment. A following built by saying things that travel.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Visual Artist of the Year
Ivy Mutuku
Kenyan-born multidisciplinary artist. 2023 saw ‘Between Us’, a body of work on friendship and the platonic register. Visual storytelling at the pinnacle of personal integrity.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Personality of the Year
Lydia Tesema
Melbourne-born MC, host, presenter and founder of Below The Surface. Australian event stages, commissioned interviews in the USA. A global conversationalist with the room.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Performing Artist of the Year
Chantal Bala
Multidisciplinary performing artist. Expressive choreography, dynamic stage presence, the kind of confidence the front row feels first.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Sport
The record holders.
Emerging Athlete of the Year
Naomi Chinnama
Defender. U23 World Cup performances against the international standard. Pace, positional discipline and a result on the biggest stage.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Athlete of the Year
Joseph Deng
Australian middle-distance runner. 2023: the national record in the 800 metres, broken. International competition through the year. Speed, endurance, the lap that holds.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Standalone
The night’s highest honours.
Moment of the Year
South Sudan Men’s Basketball
2023 FIBA World Cup, their first appearance, sealed with key wins and qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics. A national result watched far beyond the court.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Trailblazer Award
Akec Makur Chuot
AFL professional. Skill on the field, the kind of performance that opens doors that stay open. A first that won’t be the last.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
Amari Icon Award
Selba Gondoza-Luka
Mental health clinician, counsellor, and CEO of Afri-Aus Care. Decades of practice. The UBUNTU philosophy and the Positive Change Model, applied in the room. Member, Victorian African Communities Committee. A body of work that defines the standard.
Winner, AMARI Gala 2024
The standard, set
The first room.
The 2024 Gala set what AMARI is. Read on for the second year, and the third.