Berlin/A Coruña: Piranha Arts, the organisers of WOMEX, today announce the official Jury, also known as the 7 Samurai. From all the proposals received from around the globe, this year’s selected Jury will curate the official Showcase and Conference Programme for WOMEX 23, taking place in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, from 25 – 29 October 2023.

WOMEX aspires to reflect the music and its music community in all fairness and equity. The official WOMEX jury system was established in 1999 that comprises independent jury members, who change annually and come from all over the world. This year’s Jury members – like the participants of the WOMEX programme – come from different regions. Four women and three men, representing eight countries, bring diverse skills, forward-thinking ideas, and a rich collective musical knowledge across a great range of styles, sectors and genres. And each member brings experience: journalism, artist management, music export institutions, booking agency, record label, cultural activism, live venue and festival direction, DJ, radio broadcasting and much more!

Since 2012, WOMEX has hosted the Club Summit, a series of club showcases highlighting the most exciting and breakthrough DJs, music producers and electronic sounds from the global underground. An independent curator, along with the in-house WOMEX team, curates the lineup for the Club Summit.

The Showcase Samurai:

Antonio Martinez (Spain/Germany), founder and director of Endirecto, co-managing director of Nordesía.
Francis de Souza (The Netherlands), booking agent at EBB Music (a merger of Earth Beat and BLiP), freelance music programmer, curator and DJ
Lize Colson (Belgium), export officer, jazz and traditional music at VI.BE.
Magali Berardo (Italy), booking agent, founder of Musicalista and freelance consultant.
Takuya Salam Unagami (Japan), journalist, radio host, author, lecturer, and DJ at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL

The Conference Samurai:

Gwendolenn Sharp (France), founder of The Green Room, an alumnus of Keychange, and resident of Villa Albertine.
Ouafa Belgacem (Tunisia), founder of CFW: Culture Funding Watch, freelance business development expert in Africa, Asia and the MENA region.

Club Summit Curator:

Daniel Wahl (Mexico/Germany), DJ, radio journalist, curator, programmer WDR Cosmo and event organiser

As the global music industry’s leading expo and networking event, WOMEX aims to connect, enable, and empower music professionals, celebrate diversity and forge new creative partnerships.