Hiwa K and Anocha Suwichakornpong Win SeMA-HANA Media Art Award at Seoul Mediacity Biennale

Hiwa K and Anocha Suwichakornpong have received the SeMA-HANA Media Art Award, with Ernest A Bryant III earning an honorary mention. The award recognizes outstanding presentations at the Seoul Mediacity Biennale, which continues until 23 November. A jury including Mika Kuraya, Elena Vogman, Youngbin Kwak, Anton Vidokle, Hallie Ayres, Lukas Brasiskis, and Eunju Choi selected the winners. Hiwa K's commissioned work You Won’t Feel a Thing (2025) examines Western healthcare systems and mind-body disconnection through personal experience. Anocha Suwichakornpong's Narrative (2025) explores loss and trauma through meetings with relatives of victims from Bangkok's 2010 pro-democracy demonstrations. Ernest A Bryant III's Self-Medication (2005) and Flight Jacket (2006–2008) combine interactive sculpture with multimedia installations envisioning alternative economies. Established in 2014 with support from Hana Financial Group, the award promotes contemporary art in Korea through prize money and a trophy. The biennale's theme Séance: Technology of the Spirit invites artists to propose spiritual and mystical technologies as resistance to capitalism. Eunju Choi noted that connecting to worlds beyond waking life represents one of art's oldest aspirations.