Asia’s Next Generation Prize Winners Propose Cutting Edge Digital Projects

The winners of the Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize for Asia pitched digital fashion collaborations, visualisations of dating app data, and retro cities of the future.

The six Asia winners of the Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize were announced today by the Swiss wealth management group.

The winners are: Andre Wee and Chan Wan Kyn from Singapore, Carla Chan, Jamela Law, and Natalie Yen Ye Wong from Hong Kong, and India's Viraag Desai.

Each artist receives a cash prize of US $10,000 and the chance to realise their concepts during a three-month Art and Technology Accelerator Programme run by digital art non-profit The MeshMinds Foundation. The results will be showcased online in July.

The award is given to digital artists aged 21 to 40 based on proposals related to the themes of Sustainability, Future Cities, and Digital Disruption.

Winning proposals were chosen from a pool of 313 submissions by a panel of art world professionals including artists Shubigi Rao and Refik Anadol, as well as curators Theresa McCullough and Fu LiaoLiao.

Rao noted that the strongest proposals 'stood out for their sureness of purpose, poetic imagination, creative use of live feed datasets, and thoughtful engagement with the audience.'

Also on the judging panel, Ocula co-founder Simon Fisher said this year's submissions 'proposed ideas about the collaboration and merging of "life and art".'

Proposals included a generative floating metropolis, a work driven by weather, demographic, and flight data, and the use of dating app data to explore human connection amidst digital disruption.

Hong Konger and fashion artist Jamela Law proposed an inclusive digital space for fashion co-designing to promote empathy, healing, and dialogue on mental health and trauma.

'People need to know that they matter, that their stories have meanings, and that their narratives will have a positive impact when shared', Law said in a statement.

'The creative proposals for this year's prize impressed us with high-quality concepts and visions of a progressive future,' said Jimmy Lee, Julius Baer Group's Asia Pacific Head.

'We are excited to see how our winning artists bring their exceptional proposals to life,' he said. —[O]