We're proud to present the 2026 Artist and Professional Excellence Awards.
WOMEX 26 Artist Award: Luzmila Carpio (Bolivia)
An Indigenous Quechua speaker from Bolivia's Altiplano, Luzmila Carpio has performed, recorded and released music across six decades. Rooted in traditional Quechua song yet staying contemporary and evolving, she has blazed a trail from the beginning. Singing in Quechua when the language faced repression, and standing as a solo woman performer against further discrimination, she used her voice for Indigenous rights, women and the environment, working with UNICEF and collaborating with artists like Miriam Makeba, Cesária Évora and Susana Baca.
With over 25 albums, including three with ZZK Records, Luzmila Carpio is Quechua music's most recognised voice. For her cultural ambassadorship, her championing of ancestral knowledge, her decades of activism through music, and working at the highest levels of musical artistry for over half a century, she receives the WOMEX 26 Artist Award.
WOMEX 26 Professional Excellence Award: Jail Time Records (Cameroon)
New Bell Central Prison in Douala, Cameroon was built for 800 inmates but now holds around 5000. Amid this overcrowded, violent institution, Jail Time Records shows another side. Founded in 2018 by visual artist Dione Roach and DJ/producer Steve Happi (Vidou H), the label and artist collective sees incarcerated musicians create hip-hop, trap, drill and Afro-house in the prison's studio, filming videos to striking professional quality. Their debut album, JAIL TIME VOL. 1 (2022), captures prison life in seven languages, alongside powerful photo and film reportage—including a celebrated documentary released this year.
The project has expanded to prisons in Douala and Ouagadougou, and beyond, helping former prisoners reintegrate. Happi, once held at New Bell awaiting trial, calls Jail Time an "instrument of resistance." For spotlighting these artists and restoring dignity to those affected by incarceration, Steve Happi, Dione Roach and Jail Time Records receive the WOMEX 26 Professional Excellence Award.
Learn more about WOMEX Awards here.
article posted by:Piranha Arts