The Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize (“Prize”) is for young Asian artists who create digital art – working with a medium of the future.

By dedicating the Prize to the digital image, a medium that is already fast becoming the visual currency of everyday life in the twenty-first century, we wish to engage and empower the talent of the future. The Prize underlines the importance of Julius Baer’s support of the arts and young talent, as well as a recognition of the current shifting frontiers in life and work.

“The rapid development of digital technologies has revolutionised the art landscape, where digital art is fast becoming a prominent medium. Through the Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize, we herald a new era of arts and support its progressive direction by nurturing and awarding emerging next-generation artists. Asia is our second home market, and with our long history of supporting art, we are thrilled to be continuing with the second edition of the Next Generation Art Prize following its successful premiere in 2021, and to extend the artist line-up beyond Southeast Asia to include all of Asia this year,” said Jimmy Lee, Member of the Executive Board, Julius Baer Group Ltd and Head Asia Pacific.

 

About

The second iteration of the Prize was open to residents of Greater China, India or Southeast Asia aged between 21 and 40 years old at the time of submission, although they need not be a citizen of the region. The Prize will include an inaugural three-month Art and Technology Accelerator programme for six winning artists to develop a new piece of digital art and prepare them to become creative entrepreneurs ready for the digital age.

The Prize is supported by an esteemed advisory board, panel of judges and mentors. Every application was reviewed, and six winners selected for incubation and mentoreship by leading luminaries from the art and business worlds. These six winning works will be showcased via an interactive virtual exhibition in the second half of 2023.

The Prize offers participating artists a unique opportunity to develop new works with guidance from experts in Art and Technology. Participating artists were invited to a gathering of pioneering artists, creative practitioners, and entrepreneurs who are championing the arts in Asia. As part of the cohort, artists will become part of a thriving community that leans on each other for collaboration, feedback, support, new opportunities, and friendship.

Prize Winners

André Wee (Singapore): Future Retro Future

Carla Chan (Hong Kong): Traces of Space Beyond

Chan Wan Kyn (Singapore): City in Aether

Jamela Law (Hong Kong): Scars, Skins and Styles: Metamorphosis in the Metaverse

Natalie Yen Ye Wong (Hong Kong): Algorithm Actually

Viraag Desai (India): Pathfinder

Learn more about the Winning Artists and their Artworks here.

How to Participate

Artists were selected on the strength of their online portfolio before being invited to submit a new artwork concept that they would like to develop.

To qualify for the Prize, submissions must fulfill the relevant criteria, including to reflect at least one of the Julius Baer Next Generation Investment themes on Arising Asia, Digital Disruption, Energy Transition, Feeding the World, Future Cities, Shifting Lifestyles, and Inequality as well as Sustainability.

A total of six winners were selected for the incubation programme by our esteemed panel of judges. The winners will then be mentored by luminaries from the art and business worlds, and their completed artworks will be featured in an interactive virtual showcase at the end of the programme.

Benefits for Winning Artists

  • Six winners will be awarded a total prize money of USD10,000 each, which will be paid in two tranches, subject to terms and conditions.
  • Artists will embark on a 3-month specialised Art x Tech Accelerator programme as they develop their winning art concept to fruition under the mentorship of some of the best names in the digital arts industry. We will provide support in their journey of creating, promoting and showcasing the work.
  • Artists will have an opportunity to showcase their new digital artwork, in an exclusive Julius Baer virtual exhibition, to Julius Baer clients, art enthusiasts and the artists community in Asia.

Judging Criteria

The judging panel would look out for artworks based on, amongst others, the following criteria:

  • Relevance to the themes of the Prize
  • Artistic excellence and innovation
  • Integration of digital methods and components
  • Synergy between technology and the arts

Important Dates

Judges

Acclaimed and inspirational individuals that digital artists look up to and will play the pivotal role of selecting the six winning artists based on original concepts.

Refik Anadol is a media artist, director and pioneer in the aesthetics of data and machine intelligence. His body of work locates creativity at the intersection of humans and machines. In taking the data that flows around us as the primary material and the neural network of a computerised mind as a collaborator, Anadol paints with a thinking brush, offering us radical visualisations of our digitised memories and expanding the possibilities of architecture, narrative, and the body in motion.

Anadol’s site-specific AI data sculptures, live audio/visual performances, and immersive installations take many forms, while encouraging us to rethink our engagement with the physical world, its temporal and spatial dimensions, and the creative potential of machines.

Simon Fisher is the Co-Founder of Ocula, a leading online contemporary art platform from the Asia Pacific region. With more than two decades of market experience predominantly focusing on Post War and Contemporary Art, Simon advises major collections around the world; from the Asia-Pacific region, to the Middle East, Europe and the US. His wealth of knowledge and expertise in negotiating private sales and advising on acquisitions, consignments and valuations over the years affords his clients exceptional advice in an ever-changing complex market.

Prior to Ocula, Simon was introduced to the world of art amidst his family’s gallery business that was established in 1870 and pursued to be independent advisor.

Shivajirao Gaekwar, Deputy Director and Specialist for Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art at Sotheby’s, engages with collectors and advises new art buyers in India. He has brought a number of high-value and record-breaking works of art to Sotheby’s auctions, some of which have achieved record prices, most notably Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘The Little Girl in Blue’, which achieved a record price for the artist in India.

Prior to joining Sotheby’s, Shivajirao was a member of Saffronart’s Modern and Contemporary Art team, where he established the first dedicated auction sales for significant Indian design and classical Indian art. Shivajirao has also served as a trustee on the boards of several educational institutions, and he currently serves on the Committee Honor of the Foundation Frison Horta in Brussels, Belgium.

Fu Liaoliao is a Shanghai-based independent curator, and she concentrates her research and practice on how people and technology interact in socio-economic systems as well as the purposes of public space and its boundaries.

Liaoliao has extensive experience working in various art institutions, including the HOW Art Museum as the Exhibition Director and Ming Contemporary Art Museum as the Head of Curatorial Department.  She was nominated for the 2019 14th Art Award China Curator of the Year award (AAC). Her curatorial works include solo shows for artists like Thomas Hirschhorn, Ho Tzu Nyen, and Li Binyuen in addition to group exhibitions like Beneath the Skin, Between the Machines, and Interrupted Meals.

Theresa McCullough is the Principal Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore. She was instrumental in reimagining the museum’s layout and curated three new permanent galleries. Recently, Theresa was invited as a Visiting Curatorial Scholar on the art of Borneo at Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, USA.

Theresa started her career as an art specialist at Spink and Son Ltd., in London. She later opened her own gallery in Mayfair before becoming a Senior Specialist at Sotheby’s in New York.  Exhibitions including Angkor: Discovering Cambodia’s Sacred City, Treasures from Asia’s Oldest Museum: Buddhist Art from the Indian Museum, Kolkata, and Exploring the Cosmos: The Stupa as a Buddhist Symbol are just a few of the projects Theresa has accomplished since joining the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Shubigi Rao, an award-winning multidisciplinary Singaporean artist, examines in her work the systems of knowledge that structure our world. Shubigi is also the Artistic Director for the upcoming Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022, South Asia’s biggest visual arts event.

Her current decade-long project, Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book is about the history of book destruction and the future of knowledge. In 2020, the second book from the project won the Singapore Literature Prize (non-fiction), while the first volume was shortlisted in 2018. Shubigi was awarded numerous awards for both books, including AIGA (New York)’s 50 best books of 2016, and D&AD Pencil for design. The artist was also featured in various distinguished exhibitions such as the 10th Asia-Pacific Triennial and Singapore’s National Pavilion in the 59th La Biennale di Venezia (Arte).

Mentors

Leading experts in their field who would host mentorship session(s) for six winning artists and offer guidance throughout the 3-month Art x Tech Accelerator programme.

Sergiu Ardelean is the Co-Founder and the CEO of Artivive who oversees multiple aspects of the company, with a focus on product development and its vision and mission. He is also.a serial entrepreneur from Austria who has built a successful augmented reality agency in Vienna, which serves clients such as Volkswagen and Audi in 42 countries.

Artivive now has offices in Europe, US and China and is by 185,000 artists in 120 countries. Its projects with world-famous museums and galleries in Vienna, Munich, San-Francisco, Seoul and Shanghai show that the art scene is ready for the new dimensions augmented art can bring.

Ina Conradi, an Associate Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, is also an award-winning new media artist. Her research interests extend throughout the digital realm, including computer generated animation and 360° immersive displays. Ina is currently part of the steering committee for NTU Singapore’s Global Digital Art Prize.

She served on the jury for the 2019 Prix Ars Electronica Animation Category and has won awards as an artist and a teacher, including the Hollywood Advanced Imaging Society’s 2018 Lumiere Award for experimental animation. Ina’s new media works have been presented at various exhibitions and conferences, such as Ars Electronica Festival, Beyond Festival ZKM and SIGGRAPH Asia. She has also been curating a large media platform, namely Media Art Nexus, and has enabled students to produce site-specific audio-visual media content that thematically and spatially interacts with its surroundings and augments the space.

Chao Jiaxing is an Independent Curator based in Shanghai. Her research and interests include cross-disciplinary art practices and rituals as methods in East Asia contemporary art creations. Her recent project “Rituals in Rituals of the Future”, are collective creations under the issue.

From 2010 to 2015, Jiaxing served as Curator and Managing Director at V ART CENTER, a non-profit space founded by the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts. As the Senior Curator of Start Museum, West Bund in Shanghai, she launched and curated the ongoing research project “Being Information”. Jiaxing has won the ACC Residency Fellowship 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea, CIMAM 2019 Annual Conference Travel Grant, Tokyo Arts and Space Creator Residency etc. In 2021, Jiaxing edited the bilingual publication Under Construction: A History of Shanghai Art Institutions, 2008-2016.

Unnikrishna M Damodaran is an Indian visual artist and digital specialist who primarily works on the digital format with images, alphabets, text, and typography, allowing it to expand with pixel space to push the boundaries of traditional calligraphy and typography.

Unnikrishna has recently curated an NFT IRL exhibition in Kochi, Kerala, organised by Utopian Dystopia, a festival focused on community, art, technology, design, perspectives, and the future. His art has been selected for several curated NFT exhibitions, including DOMANCE, Dome Art Exhibition by Searchlight Art, USA, ArsElectronica 2021, Mask Ephemera-NFT.NYC 2021, Miami Art Week at Art Basel 2021, Tributary: Popartwalk SXSW 2022, Austin, Texas, and FigureGlyphs by SearchLight Atelier & Gallery, an experimental Web 3.0 lab and gallery to explore and innovate in the metaverse and Lokame Tharavadu (The World Is One Family) by Kochi Biennale Foundation, India 2021.

Kay Poh Gek Vasey is the Founder of The MeshMinds Foundation, a not-for-profit arts organisation focused on educating, enabling and empowering artists in Asia to advance the sustainable development of people and our planet. The MeshMinds Foundation is supported by its sister organisation, MeshMinds, a creative technology studio which has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO to protect our culture and the environment in the digital age.

In 2022, The MeshMinds Foundation partnered with Meta to enable artists to use augmented and virtual reality to bring new audiences to traditional art in Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The programme was highlighted by UNESCO as an innovative example of protecting cultural heritage and building engagement with youth audiences and was seen by hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

Looking forward, with the dawn of web 3.0, Kay is committed to enabling a metaverse for people and planet. She offers expertise and advocacy on XR creation & production; metaverse pedagogy; digital sustainability; digital transformation; and the future of art & creativity.

Audrey Yeo is the Founder of Yeo Workshop Contemporary Art, a gallery in Singapore that is dedicated to contemporary art. The gallery fosters artist careers and provides exhibition platforms for artists. As an art consultant, she has initiated and worked on several platforms, including the Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize, S.E.A. Focus - a STPI Project, START art patrons programme, Singapore Arts Club, and large-scale public art projects She is also a member of the Cartier Red Club, a global network of entrepreneurs that connects, inspires, and shapes the next generation of leaders.

Advisory Board

Esteemed and influential individuals in the arts scene with strong connections with artists in Asia.

Paul Abraham, has greatly contributed to the arts scene as an art patron and collector of historical artefacts, art and living traditions from the Indian subcontinent. Paul is the Founder of India’s first digital museum, Sarmaya, which aims to foster a love for art and history among the young and curious and create access for all. In support of Indian art and artisans, Paul works closely with Indian artists to encourage innovation in indigenous art forms like Mata-Ni-Pachedi, Tholu Bommalata, Mithila and Bengal Patua. He also currently serves as President of the Hinduja Foundation which is the philanthropic arm of the Hinduja Group.

Paul is a banker with over 38 years of experience, and prior to his role as the COO at IndusInd Bank, he has held senior management stints across multiple functions with multinational banks such as ABN AMRO and ANZ Grindlays and worked across multiple geographies like India, Dubai and Singapore.

Christine Chan Chiu, Co-Founder of AARRTT, aims to help audiences navigate Asia’s vibrant and dynamic art scene and to encourage art appreciation, exploration, and education by providing a unified platform for the myriad exhibitions and art offerings that are unfolding.

Formerly the General Manager of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, Christine was instrumental in connecting with galleries, non-profits, and academic and educational institutions in order to bring exposure to artists, make art accessible, and promote public art in community spaces. Christine has also worked at auction houses in New York and Hong Kong. She earned her master’s degree at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Clara Che Wei Peh is a curator and arts writer based in Singapore. Her practice looks at the intersections of art, money, and technology. She is the Curator for Art Dubai 2023 Digital section, and the Art Lead at Appetite, a transdisciplinary programme. She is also the Founder of NFT Asia, a digital-native artist collective.

Clara’s curated projects include: “Right Click + Save”, Singapore (2021); “STAGING: MAPPLETHORPE”, Singapore (2022); “A Screen of One’s Own”, New York, USA (2022)". She was an Adjunct Lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts, and has conducted guest lectures and workshops for various institutions such as the National Gallery Singapore, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Yale-NUS College, and others. She has also contributed for platforms including Hyperallergic, Outland, and Art and Market.

Tammy Gur, a specialist in the development of digital products and content-rich sites, is a lecturer in the field of user experience and design in higher education design institutions in the UK and overseas. In her most recent role at Artsy, the world’s largest online art marketplace, she led a team that develops an Art marketplace for art online, which helps collectors to grow their art collection with intent and supports the democratisation of art and artists through technology.

The MA graduate in Multimedia of the École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle led training programmes for the BBC design team and has also contributed to the design of digital news, weather and emerging technology products for the BBC.

Honor Harger, the Vice President of ArtScience Museum and Vice President of Attractions at Marina Bay Sands, is also a Co-Founder of the sound art collective,  r a d i o q u a l i a, who is best known for Radio Astronomy, a radio station broadcasting sound from space. Her interests centre on the cultural impact of scientific ideas and how the future is being shaped by museums and cultural organisations.

Honor was recently a member of the organising committee for the Future of Arts and Culture study, which examines emerging forces, change drivers, and potential impacts that may reshape the cultural sector in the coming decade. Prior to the ArtScience Museum, Honor was the Director of Lighthouse, a digital culture, visual arts and film venue in Brighton, UK.  She was also the first curator of webcasting for Tate, where she also curated events and concerts at Tate Modern.

Venus Lau is a curator and writer based in Shanghai, she is currently the Art Strategic Director of Modern Media Group and Art Editor-in-Chief of Numéro Art China. Lau was formerly the artistic director of K11 Art Foundation (KAF), and oversaw the Foundation’s artistic programming, providing insight on creative content building for projects, including German artist Katharina Grosse’s first solo exhibition in China, “Mumbling Mud”,; KAF’s group exhibitions “Emerald City” and “Glow Like That” in Hong Kong; and Betty Woodman: “House and Universe” at chi K11 art museum in Shanghai.

Prior to joining KAF, Lau was the artistic director of OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen, where she curated “Digging a Hole in China”, a group exhibition on the relationship of art and land in China, “The Enormous Space: Cui Jie and Lee Kit” and Simon Denny’s solo project “Real Mass Entrepreneurship”. When she was the curator at Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing, Lau curated the “Secret Timezones Trilogy” series, which comprised solo exhibitions of Ming Wong, Korakrit Arunanondchai and Haegue Yang.

The Prize is open to artists aged between 21 to 40 years old at the time of submission, who are residents of Southeast Asia, India or Greater China although they need not be a citizen of the region.

Submissions from artists residing outside Southeast Asia, India or Greater China may be assessed by Julius Baer in its sole and absolute discretion.

Longlisted artists are required to submit a concept for a new piece of digital art that addresses one of the Julius Baer themes.

Artwork can be in any digital art medium (see below), size, format, genre or approach, and must engage digital art media in its creation process.

Digital art can either be understood as any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically, as computational art that uses and engages with digital media, which would include without limitation:

  • Static 2D / 3D Image
  • Animated 2D / 3D Video
  • Generative Art
  • Augmented / Virtual Reality Art 
  • Interactive Art

Do note that only proposals for digital art will be considered, and any final decisions on a concept’s qualification are subject to Julius Baer’s discretion. For the avoidance of doubt, digital photography and virtual exhibitions are not eligible for submissions.

The judging panel would look out for artworks based on, amongst others, the following criteria:

  • Relevance to the themes of the Prize
  • Artistic excellence and innovation
  • Integration of digital methods and components
  • Synergy between technology and the arts

Artists are required to submit a concept for a new piece of digital art that addresses one of the following themes:

  • Arising Asia - The growing economies and expanding middle classes of emerging Asia
  • Digital Disruption - The phenomenon of digitalization, which is affecting every corner of our lives
  • Energy Transition - The shift from fossil fuels to new sources of energy
  • Feeding the World - Sustainable food production for 10-billion-strong world population by 2050
  • Shifting Lifestyles - Aging populations and extended longevity are altering global lifestyles
  • Future Cities - The opportunities and challenges related to a more and more city-centric world
  • Inequality - The opportunities and challenges related the vast topic of inequality
  • Sustainability - The strategy that enables a shift towards a more equitable future and healthier planet for the generations to come

More information on our Next Generation Investment approach may be found here.

  • Six winners will be awarded a total prize money of USD10,000 each, which will be paid over two tranches subject to conditions.
  • Artists will embark on a 3-month specialised Art x Tech Accelerator programme as they develop their winning art concept to fruition under the mentorship of some of the best names in the digital arts industry. We will provide support in your journey of creating, promoting and showcasing the artwork.
  • Artists will have an opportunity to showcase their new digital artwork in an exclusive Julius Baer virtual exhibition to Julius Baer clients, art enthusiasts and the artists community in Asia.

You may view the other frequently asked questions about submitting an entry and our virtual programmes for artists here:
 

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding the Art Prize, please email us at
marketing.hongkong@juliusbaer.com (for Greater China) or
marketing.singapore@juliusbaer.com (for Southeast Asia and India).