A Program That Helps Shape the Future of Korean Contemporary Art
 
The 《Korea Artist Prize》 is an annual artist support and award program jointly organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) and the SBS Foundation. Launched in 2012, the program selects four artists or artist collectives each year, supports the production and exhibition of new work, and names one winner following the public “Artist & Jury Dialogue” program and a final jury review.

The four artists selected for the 2026 edition are Lee Hai Min Sun, Lee Jung-woo, Jeon Hyun-sun, and Hong Jin-hwon. Each artist receives KRW 50 million in production support from the SBS Foundation, while the winner receives an additional KRW 10 million. MMCA has stated that, although the artists employ different media and methodologies, they share a “contemporary sensibility” and demonstrate the “potential to expand the boundaries of art.”
 
《Korea Artist Prize 2026》 will be held in Galleries 1 and 2 at MMCA Seoul from July 24 to December 6, 2026. The exhibition will present new works alongside key earlier works by the four artists. The winner is scheduled to be announced in October 2026 following the “Artist & Jury Dialogue” and the final jury review.
 
 
 
Who Are the Jurors?
 
The first-round jury for 《Korea Artist Prize 2026》 consists of seven members representing international and Korean art institutions, biennials, artistic practice, criticism, and the independent art sector. Six jurors will participate in the final selection, with MMCA curator Park Deok-sun, who is responsible for the program, excluded from the final jury.

Emma Enderby is Director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. Before taking up the position in 2024, she served as Chief Curator and Head of Programs and Research at Haus der Kunst in Munich. She previously held curatorial positions at international contemporary art institutions, including the New Museum in New York.
 
Charmaine Toh is a Senior Curator at Tate Modern. Before joining Tate, she worked for approximately eight years at the National Gallery Singapore. Her research and curatorial practice have focused on Southeast Asian photography and on how photography and visual culture from non-Western regions can be reconsidered within global art history.
 
Ho Tzu Nyen is a Singaporean artist and curator and serves as Artistic Director of the 16th Gwangju Biennale. Working across video, animation, installation, and performance, he has explored Southeast Asian history, colonialism, state power, myth, and archival records. He represented Singapore at the 2011 Venice Biennale.

Jung Hyun is a professor at Inha University and an art critic. His research and criticism have focused on Korean modern and contemporary art, sculpture, and the social and institutional contexts of contemporary artistic practice.
 
Kim Ji-yeon is a curator and Director of Alternative Space D/P. Through her work in independent art spaces and experimental exhibition contexts, she has introduced and supported a wide range of artists and projects.

Kim Sung-hee, Director of MMCA, and Park Deok-sun, an MMCA curator, serve as ex officio jurors. Park is responsible for Korea Artist Prize 2026 and participates in the first-round selection and the practical development of the exhibition, but does not take part in the final jury process.
 
 
 
Where Is the Selection Rationale?
 
In the official materials currently available, no separate collective jury statement or detailed explanation of why each artist was selected for the 2026 edition can be found.
 
The phrases “contemporary sensibility” and “the potential to expand the boundaries of art” are presented as shared criteria. However, MMCA does not explain precisely what these terms mean or how they were applied to each artist.
 
It remains unclear whether “contemporary sensibility” refers to engagement with social issues, the use of new technologies and media, or an artist’s ability to interpret the structures and emotions of the present through an independent visual language. Likewise, “the potential to expand the boundaries of art” might refer to the combination of multiple media, the transformation of established artistic conventions, or the potential for a practice to develop within international discourse. Further explanation is therefore necessary.
 
This issue is not unique to the 2026 edition. In 2025, the jury list and profiles of the four selected artists—Kim Young-eun, Kim Jipyeong, Unmake Lab, and Lim Youngzoo—were made public, but the official materials did not provide a comprehensive account of the jury’s reasoning or detailed selection criteria for each artist.
 
Some jury commentary may be released when the winner is announced. Nevertheless, the first-round selection of the four participating artists is itself a significant decision. At this stage, production funding, exhibition space, and the institutional authority of the national museum are already being allocated.
 
A jury statement should not function merely as a document that retrospectively justifies a decision. It can also serve as a critical record and public archive of what the Korean art world considered important at a particular moment.
 
The participation of international jurors also gains greater significance when their perspectives are shared publicly: what they identified in the work of Korean artists, and how they understood its potential to offer new perspectives within global art discourse.
 
It is neither necessary nor desirable to disclose every detail of the jury process, the full list of artists considered, or every individual remark made by each juror. However, a comprehensive explanation of the artistic values prioritized that year, and of how each selected artist fulfilled those criteria, should be made available.
 
 
 
From Institutional Authority to Transparency and Public Trust
 
The 《Korea Artist Prize》 is an important program because it provides selected artists with substantial production funding and significant exhibition opportunities. At the same time, it is worth reconsidering whether the current model—in which four artists occupy major exhibition spaces for approximately four and a half months—offers the most effective way to represent the diversity of Korean contemporary art.
 
The issue is not the artistic quality of the selected artists. Rather, it concerns how a national museum should allocate its limited exhibition space, budget, curatorial resources, and promotional capacity.
 
The strengths of concentrated support should be maintained. However, the duration of the main exhibition could be adjusted, while public forums, research programs, and online archives could be developed to introduce a broader range of artists, artistic tendencies, and local art scenes.
 
The international dimension of the program is not secured simply by inviting overseas jurors or emphasizing the prestige of their institutions. MMCA must also explain the criteria through which the artists were selected and clarify the significance of their work within both Korean contemporary art and international artistic discourse.
 
The 《Korea Artist Prize》 can build greater trust and significance when it moves beyond the announcement of a selection and transparently communicates the reasoning behind its decisions. By doing so, it can become a public platform through which the diversity and international potential of Korean contemporary art are collectively examined and debated.
 
 
 
Exhibition Information
 
Exhibition:《Korea Artist Prize 2026》
Participating artists: Lee Hai Min Sun, Lee Jung-woo, Jeon Hyun-sun, Hong Jin-hwon
Dates: July 24–December 6, 2026
Venue: Galleries 1 and 2, MMCA Seoul
Co-organized by: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and the SBS Foundation



References

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, “MMCA and SBS Foundation Announce Four Artists Selected for Korea Artist Prize 2026”
https://www.mmca.go.kr/pr/pressDetail.do?bdCId=202601160010180

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Korea Artist Prize 2026 Exhibition Information
https://www.mmca.go.kr/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?exhFlag=2&exhId=202512310002018

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, “SBS Foundation Announces Four Artists Selected for Korea Artist Prize 2025”
https://www.mmca.go.kr/pr/pressDetail.do?bdCId=202502210009727

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Korea Artist Prize 2025 Exhibition Information
https://www.mmca.go.kr/exhibitions/exhibitionsDetail.do?exhId=202501060001895

KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Institutional and Exhibition Information on Emma Enderby
https://www.kw-berlin.de/en/

Tate, Institutional and Program Information on Charmaine Toh
https://www.tate.org.uk/

Financial Times, “Charmaine Toh’s New Take on the Tate”
https://www.ft.com/content/e9dc5b6b-5f78-4def-abd1-f02fe222992f

Gwangju Biennale Foundation, “Ho Tzu Nyen Appointed Artistic Director of the 16th Gwangju Biennale”
https://gwangjubiennale.org/en/Board/11906/detailView.do