Hong Kong – The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) today announces names of the shortlisted finalists for The 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, the 18th edition of Asia’s most prestigious prize for contemporary artists.
Finalists in the running for this year’s Prize hail from 16 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific, of which Hong Kong has the strongest representation with 5 artists shortlisted. Amongst the finalists, 27 artists have been shortlisted for the first time. This year, The Prize received 419 entries from 27 countries and regions in Asia-Pacific. A total of 76 independent arts professionals – 11 of them new to the nominating board for 2022 and comprising curators and academics who work closely with artists in their respective regions – nominated 278 artists into The Prize. The 30 finalists were shortlisted by a panel of four world-class art specialists, namely: writer, curator, and museum director, David Elliott; artist, curator, and actress, Karena Lam; artist and winner of The 2021 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, Li Binyuan; and Senior Curator, Digital and Heritage at Tai Kwun, Ying Kwok. An additional artwork was also selected as a special inclusion for the exhibition resulting in a total of 31 artists on display this year.
Launched in 2003, SAF is a charitable organisation that raises funds for programmes that support disadvantaged children through expressive arts. In tandem with SAF’s year-round fundraising initiatives. The Prize is recognised as one of the most coveted annual awards in the region with a Grand Prize of US$30,000. Nurturing talent from across Asia-Pacific, The Prize has acted as a springboard to help artists go on to achieve record prices as well as gain invaluable exposure to wider audiences. The winner of the Grand Prize, along with the winners of the Public Vote Prize of US$1,000 (determined through public votes online and at exhibition) and the Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Art Prize of US$5,000 (awarded to the highest scoring female finalist), will be announced in May 2022.
The finalists’ artworks will be presented to the public at Art Central, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 26 – 29 May 2022. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to cast a vote for their favourite artist to win the Public Vote Prize.
The shortlisted artworks will be available to purchase via sale online on the website and by visiting in person at Art Central. All proceeds will be split evenly between the artists and charitable programmes for disadvantaged children in Asia. Please stay tuned to our website or social media channels for the launch of artwork sales.
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