Sameen Agha Named Winner of The 2024 Sovereign Asian Art Prize
Hong Kong, 20 May 2024 – The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) today announced Pakistani artist Sameen Agha as Grand Prize winner of The 2024 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, with a cash prize of US$30,000 for her work A Home Is A Terrible Place to Love, an intricately designed sculpture carved from red marble and incorporating a symbolic reference to home. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Asia’s most prestigious award in contemporary art.
Michelle Fung of Hong Kong was awarded the Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Art Prize of US$5,000 for her work, Red Bean Stalk, an original wood carving that reflects the culmination of drawing and printmaking work spanning two decades. Demet of the Philippines is awarded the Public Vote Prize of US$1,000 for his work, PPE, Paint Palette Emulation, an oil painting that employs techniques of hyperrealism and trompe l’oeil.
Sameen Agha’s winning sculpture draws from a collective well of associations, as she explores the emotions at the core of interpersonal and political tensions. The use of a specific red marble gives a sense of skin, flesh, and blood; it is both hard yet brittle, playing with the idea of a home, which in its own materiality is quite strong as a structure but very fragile in its essence as a domestic space. Agha was nominated for The Prize by curator and arts educator Adeel Uz Zafar.
Agha said of her win:
"It is an incredible honour to be awarded The 2024 Sovereign Asian Art Prize. I am thrilled and deeply grateful for this recognition. This award is a significant milestone for my career, and I am profoundly appreciative and thankful for the acknowledgment and support. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Adeel Uz Zafar for nominating me and believing in my practice. It is a huge privilege to showcase my work on the prestigious platform provided by The Sovereign Art Foundation.
To be selected among 30 brilliant artists from Asia and now to receive the Prize is truly humbling. I am immensely thankful to the Judges for this opportunity. This honourable award will undoubtedly propel my career to new heights and be a significant stepping stone in my career as an artist."
The awards were presented live at The 2024 Sovereign Asian Art Prize Gala Dinner and Charity Auction, held on Friday, 17 May at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.
The artworks, besides the Grand Prize winner, were auctioned at the Gala Dinner, with proceeds split evenly between the artists and SAF’s charity programmes. The evening raised over US$220,000 in artwork sales and donations.
Funds raised 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.
The Finalists Exhibition was presented at 9/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong from 8 to 16 May 2024. Visitors were invited to cast a vote for their favourite artwork and take part in an educational activity onsite. A special artist-led workshop was also arranged for a group of children from the Make It Better programme, with Hong Kong finalist Doris Chui Suet Wai.
A board of 55 independent art professionals nominated artists from 15 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific into The Prize. The finalists from 15 countries and territories were shortlisted by a judging panel including writer, curator, and museum director, David Elliott (Chair Judge); Executive Director and Curator at Para Site in Hong Kong, Billy Tang; artist and former Prize recipient, Debbie Han; independent curator, critic, and policy analyst, Marian Pastor Roces; and artist and winner of The 2023 Prize, Parul Gupta.
END
Presented by:
The Sovereign Art Foundation
Venue Sponsor:
H Queen’s
Women’s Art Prize Partner:
Vogue Hong Kong
Grand Prize Sponsor:
Sovereign Group
Auction Partner:
Christie’s
Media Partner:
Financial Times
Cultural Partner:
Sutton
Drinks Sponsors:
Links Concept
Louis Roederer
Howard’s Folly
Auction Sponsors:
Pall Mall 67
Château de Pommard
The Pavilions Himalayas
Giaole
Relish
Nikola Zajelac
Howards Folly
The Caviar House
Supported by:
Bloomsixteen
Vivino
DASH water
Synergy