YoungEun Kim awarded 2026 ACC Future Prize

YoungEun Kim has been honored with the 2026 ACC Future Prize by the National Asian Culture Center (ACC). This award grants her a budget for production, access to media resources, and a dedicated team to help develop new works for her solo exhibition at ACC Creation Space 1 in Gwangju, which will run from August 2026 to January 2027. Based in Seoul, Kim is a versatile artist who works with sound, video, and installations. She holds degrees in sculpture and media art from Hongik University and Korea National University of Arts, as well as training in sonology from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Currently, she's pursuing a doctorate at the University of California, Santa Cruz, focusing on listening and the historical context of sound. Her artistic exploration addresses themes like modernization, militarism, and migration through sound archives. The judging committee praised her talent for turning narratives about diaspora and migration into immersive listening experiences. This biennial ACC prize, now in its second year, celebrates artists who explore the future by merging art, media, and technology. Ayoung Kim was the inaugural recipient of this award.