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Chanel Next Prize honors 10, including Korean visual artist Ayoung Kim

Published: 21 Jan. 2026, 14:14 Updated: 21 Jan. 2026, 15:29

LIM JEONG-WON
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The winners of the 3rd Chanel Next Prize are seen in this composite photo provided by the Chanel Culture Fund. From top left, Kim A-young, Pol Taburet, Emeka Ogboh, Payal Kapadia, Ambrose Akinmusire, Marco da Silva Ferreira, Andrea Pena, Alvaro Urbano, Barbara Sanchez-Kane, Pan Daijing [CHANEL CULTURE FUND]

The Chanel Culture Fund named 10 people — including Korean visual artist Ayoung Kim — as winners of the 3rd Chanel Next Prize on Wednesday.

Kim was named along with French artist Pol Taburet, Nigerian sound and installation specialist Emeka Ogboh, Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, American jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, Portuguese dancer Marco da Silva Ferreira, Colombian choreographer Andrea Peña, Spanish artist Álvaro Urbano, Mexican designer Bárbara Sánchez-Kane and Chinese electronic artist Pan Daijing.

Established in 2021, the Chanel Next Prize recognizes contemporary artists who are redefining their disciplines and shaping the future of culture, according to the Chanel Culture Fund.

Each artist will receive 100,000 euros ($117,120) in unrestricted funding, intended to provide the time and freedom to fully realize ambitious new projects. The winners will also join a two-year mentorship and networking program facilitated by partners of Chanel, including the Royal College of Art in London.

Kim is a Seoul-based contemporary artist whose work spans video, virtual reality, game simulations, sound and text, often blending speculative fiction with themes of technology, borders, labor and power. Kim’s immersive installations construct fictional worlds that draw on geopolitics, mythology and digital systems to examine how contemporary life is shaped by algorithms, surveillance and shifting forms of work.

Recently, she has gained growing international attention through major exhibitions at institutions in the United States, Europe and Asia, including high-profile museum shows centered on her “Delivery Dancer” (2022-24) series, which explores time, identity and platform labor through cinematic, gamelike narratives.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]