Wynton Marsalis
Trumpeter and composer; artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center
I’m the most proud when I get something from cities, or people. At first I was against awards, you know. I would always say, “This is so fake. The people who vote on this stuff, they never listen to the music.” But for me it’s when I received awards or something from the city. Just to go to somebody’s house and eat. Or people come and say, “We spent our anniversary checking you out,” or “We were making love to one of your records, and we had a child!” See that kind of stuff makes me feel good. Like you get a key to the city and the people are really into it. Not just, “Oh, let’s give him the key to the city because he got some publicity.” It will be some people you knew, and you were there at their school, and you worked in the community.
Recorded
Academy of Achievement interview, New York, New York, 8 January 1991
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Bronwyn Katz
South African artist and sculptor; co-founder of the iQhiya collective
Yes, exactly. The collective isn’t active anymore, but at the time, as black female artists, and also as students, we didn’t feel particularly acknowledged or seen as significant. So we thought, if we see each other, everyone else will be forced to see us, too. I felt so proud to be a part of something like that, and seeing the results that came from it.
Recorded
The Talks, Emerging Masters series, 8 November 2023
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Jessica Mauboy
Australian singer and actress; the first Indigenous artist to top the ARIA album chart
I guess my very first award when I was 10 years old, at the Adelaide River country music competition,
Recorded
Chantelle Bozicevic, 9honey Celebrity interview, Nine (9honey Celebrity), 1 August 2025
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