The 2023 Sovereign Asian Art Prize Finalists Exhibition

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) announces the 30 artists shortlisted for The 2023 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, the 19th edition of Asia’s most coveted award in contemporary art. As well as providing artists with international recognition and generous financial prizes, The Prize is an important charitable endeavour, raising substantial funds to support disadvantaged children by auctioning finalists’ artworks.

This year’s finalists were selected from 165 entrants nominated by over 60 independent professionals and hail from 16 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific. Hong Kong has the strongest representation with 6 artists shortlisted. Amongst the finalists are artists shown at Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 and found in the collections of the M+ Museum. Lindy Lee, recently commissioned to create a monumental public art piece for Hong Kong’s Peak Tram, also features in the venerable list of names, which can be viewed overleaf or by clicking here.

A judging panel will select two finalists, to be awarded the US$30,000 Grand Prize and the US$5,000 Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Art Prize, respectively. A US$1,000 Public Vote Prize will be awarded to the artist whose work attracts the most votes from the public. This year’s panel comprises writer, curator, and museum director, David Elliott; curator, educator and writer, Yuko Hasegawa; artist, educator and organiser, Christopher K Ho; independent curator, Siuli Tan; and artist and winner of The 2022 Prize, Azin Zolfaghari.

The 30 finalists’ artworks will be shown and can be voted on in a free public exhibition at 9/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong from 10-18 May 2023. Younger visitors can explore the exhibition’s key themes with a special self-guided activity, developed by SAF’s experienced art therapists and programme facilitators to promote family bonding and self-discovery through art.

Selected artworks are offered for purchase at the exhibition at a fixed price on a first-come-first-served basis. The remaining works, except the Grand Prize winner, will be auctioned at a Gala Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong on 19 May 2023, with proceeds split evenly between the artists and SAF’s charity programmes. Absentee bids and artwork votes can also be placed through SAF’s website. The auction will commence later this month, sign up to SAF’s newsletter for alerts.

Auction funds will support SAF’s Make It Better (MIB) programme, which has been providing expressive arts workshops for children living in Hong Kong’s most disadvantaged communities since 2013. The workshops support the social, emotional, and behavioural challenges of children with special educational needs including autism, ADHD, and other specific learning difficulties, and are run by a professional team of registered Art Therapists. The programme currently serves over 150 beneficiaries weekly and has recently expanded to provide education, training and support for the children’s caregivers and social workers. MIB is run entirely on donations and the public are encouraged to give generously by bidding on artworks or making donations here.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) is a charitable organisation that was founded in 2003 with a well-defined twin focus: to recognise the growing wealth of contemporary art talent in Asia and bring the proven benefits of expressive arts to disadvantaged children.

In the same year, SAF launched The Sovereign Asian Art Prize, now recognised as the most established and prestigious annual art award in Asia-Pacific. The Prize increases the international exposure of artists in the region, whilst raising funds by auctioning shortlisted artworks and sharing proceeds equally between the participating artists and SAF. SAF uses these proceeds to run and fund programmes that support disadvantaged children using expressive arts. This model has so far raised over US$11 million for artists and charities worldwide.