The acclaimed Chinese artist Wang Tuo wants to donate the HK$500,000 ($63,924) cash award he has won for a prestigious art prize in Hong Kong, hoping to benefit artists who are in need of resources to complete their works.
Wang was awarded the 2023 Sigg Prize earlier in January out of six other shortlisted artists. The biennial prize is presented by the M+ museum in Hong Kong in recognition of outstanding artistic practices in the Greater China region.
Last week, Wang announced on social media that he wanted to set up a small foundation with the cash prize that came with the award to support art projects that may be struggling to be realized. He said it was a personal decision and he was still ironing out the details.
The meaning of Sigg Prize, the artist wrote, should not be limited to encouragement for him alone, “but rather a message that can be passed on [to others] to strive for a little space.”
Wang said he felt fortunate and appreciated the support from receiving the major award, but he has also been contemplating the meaning of Sigg Prize.
Installation view of The Northeast Tetralogy (2018–2021) at Sigg Prize 2023 exhibition, 2023. Photo: Dan Leung. Courtesy of M+, Hong Kong.
“A HK$500,000 cash prize is not a small sum,” he said, noting that he spent around 6,000 yuan (less than $1,000 based on historical exchange rate) to complete his video work The Interrogation in 2018. He added that a lot of artists around the world only need a small sum to complete their projects, be it a visual art work, a music album, or a book; nevertheless a number of these projects will never be realized due to lack of funds.
“I know that a lot of young artists have created many brave works with depth over the past few years, but they struggle to be seen,” he noted. “But these genuine voices are the most precious records and reflection of our times.”
M+ welcomed Wang’s decision. “M+ is pleased to note Sigg Prize 2023 winning artist Wang Tuo’s spirit of giving by donating his award to fund small-scale art projects and promote the development of contemporary art,” a museum spokesperson said in an email to Artnet News.
Born in 1984 in Jilin, northeastern China, the Beijing-based Wang works with moving image, painting, and performance, and has been exhibited widely around the world. His Sigg Prize-winning work, The Northeast Tetralogy (2018-2021), is an immersive multi-channel video installation that was praised by the prize’s jury as “a pertinent and timely inquiry into the record and interpretation of history in the Greater China region and beyond,” with its rich cultural references prompting “viewers to reflect on our contemporary situation future.”
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