Meeting on the fringes of the Ars Acustica Plenary in Ljubljana on 14-16 June, the jury of the Prix Palma Ars Acustica (PAA) awarded this year's prize to the Swedish composer, sound artist and performer Hanna Hartman for her work CRUSH, commissioned by Swedish Radio P2 and premiered at the 2018 Art's Birthday. She was one of five finalists selected among a record 31 entries.

Expressing her gratitude and delight at receiving the 2018 Prix PAA, Hartman said: "When I was a child, public radio opened doors for me to magical new worlds. I am so honoured and so happy!"

Currently residing in Berlin, Hanna Hartman studied literature and theatre history at the Universities of Uppsala and Stockholm, radio and interactive art at the Dramatiska Institutet and electroacoustic music at the Electronic Music Studio (EMS) in Stockholm.

Born in 1961, she has composed works for radio, electroacoustic music, ensembles, created sound installations and given numerous performances all over the world. Her many distinctions include the Karl Sczuka Prize (2005), the Phonurgia Nova Prize (2006 and 2016), a Villa Aurora grant (2010) and the Rosenberg Prize (2011). During 2007 and 2008 she was composer-in-residence at Swedish Radio. CRUSH was composed in the artist's private studio in Berlin and at the EMS in Stockholm.

Having developed her very own language, Hanna Hartman creates compositions that are exclusively made up of authentic sounds which she has recorded around the world. Sounds are taken out of their original context and thus perceived in their purity. She seeks to reveal hidden connections among the most varied auditory impressions and she creates extraordinary sound worlds in new constellations.

Hanna Hartman is a member of the German Academy of the Arts. Her work has been presented in numerous concerts and festivals, among others the Witten Days for New Chamber Music, Darmstadt Summer Courses, Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, El Nicho Aural in Mexico City, Akousma in Montreal, mikromusik Berlin, Eclat Festival in Stuttgart, and the Cut & Splice Festival in Manchester.