Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 open call final awardees

Hyundai Blue Prize+, organized by Hyundai Motor Company, is pleased to announce two curatorial teams Hyejin Park & Yoonyoung Park and Yifeng Wei & Penny Dan Xu as the final awardees of the Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025.

Established as a laboratory for the evolving role of curators, Hyundai Blue Prize+ invites curators worldwide to explore pressing contemporary issues, in connection with the contexts of Asia. In July, the Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 open call received over 160 exhibition proposals for Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing, from which five teams were shortlisted to participate in a curatorial program guided by an international jury panel. This included one-on-one mentorship sessions and a research trip to Beijing, supporting the development of a final exhibition proposal. Following the presentation of final proposals to the jury panel, two teams were selected as final awardees.

Hyejin Park and Yoonyoung Park, curators based in Seoul, unpack AI through the constructive lens of the Capitalocene, examining its connections to broader economic and resource systems. Their proposal traces AI’s dependence on natural resources and various forms of labor, as well as the process by which emotions and identities are utilized as new forms of capital. Through this perspective, they challenge audiences to reflect on everyday choices and envision new ways of coexisting with technology.

Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu, curators based in Dublin and London respectively, explore the dissolving boundaries between technology, science, and spirituality. Their proposal reimagines modern technology beyond a conventional framework and speculates on alternative futures, inviting audiences to perceive technologies as an alchemical medium. It asks whether empirical inquiry can merge with spiritual imagination to shape new cosmologies for the technological era.

“The final awardees of Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 both offer fresh perspectives on contemporary technologies, distinguished by cultural urgency and a thoughtful translation of their ideas into the gallery space. Each proposal successfully brings together a convincing selection of works that perfectly capture the exhibition concept.”

“In Hyejin Park & Yoonyoung Park’s timely exhibition proposal, we are taken behind the scenes and under the surface of machine learning, digital technologies and AI. In a carefully choreographed and nuanced sequence of works, we are asked to reflect upon the true impact of these supposedly wondrous new technologies. Furthermore, the curators ask us to consider ‘what choices should we make when we relate to these technologies, and what forms of coexistence can we create?’”

“From the primordial to the digital, and between the empirical and the spiritual, Yifeng Wei & Penny Dan Xu’s exhibition proposal brings together a group of poetic, often thought-provoking works. The curatorial selection and design effectively convey the exhibition concept through visually striking works and a multisensorial experience, further enhanced by accompanying programs designed to engage a wide range of audiences.”

— Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 jury panel.

Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 was led by a jury panel comprised of: Jochen Eisenbrand, Chief Curator, Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein); Carol K. Huh, Associate Curator of Contemporary Asian Art, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.); Frances Morris, former Director of Tate Modern (London) and Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ewha Womans University (Seoul); Christiane Paul, Curator of Digital Art, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York); and Philip Tinari, Director, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing). Their collective expertise and dedication not only ensured a rigorous evaluation process but also provided significant mentorship support, culminating in the recognition of the final awardees whose works exemplify innovation and experimentation.

The final awardees will present their exhibitions at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing, scheduled for mid-2026 and early 2027. Each team will receive up to 800,000 RMB (approximately USD 110,000) for exhibition production and implementation, with additional support for on-site operations and communications.

For more information about Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025, please visit the official Hyundai Blue Prize+ website.

About Hyundai Motor’s Art Projects
For over a decade, Hyundai Motor Company has deepened its partnerships with museums and cultural organizations worldwide, including Tate, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Hyundai Translocal Series is a new partnership initiative that roots itself in fostering dialogues and collaboration among art institutions in Korea and across the globe. Hyundai Motor’s own art initiatives include open call programs such as the VH AWARD, Hyundai Blue Prize+, and Artlab Editorial, a digital platform dedicated to art writing by transnational voices. These ongoing collaborations embrace the complexities of the cultural landscape by exploring new ideas and perspectives within and beyond the art ecosystem. For further information, visit artlab.hyundai.com or follow @hyundai.artlab #HyundaiArtlab.