YoungEun Kim has been awarded the 2026 ACC Future Prize, the National Asian Culture Center (ACC) has announced. The artist will receive a production fee as well as supporting infrastructure – including media studios and a dedicated team – to make new works in anticipation of a major solo exhibition that will take place from August 2026 to January 2027 at the ACC Creation Space 1, Gwangju.
Born in Seoul, YoungEun Kim is a multidisciplinary artist who works with sound, video and installation art. After studying sculpture and media art at Hongik University and Korea National University of Arts, Seoul, she completed a sonology program at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her ongoing research focuses on reinterpretations of listening and sound’s historical significance through experimental framework.
Kim’s work examines social and historical narratives such as modernisation, militarism and migration, through sound archives. Speaking about her work, the judging committee said:
‘She reconstructs speeches and writings produced in diaspora, migration, and border contexts through recitation and reading, transforming listening into a reflective act. Her project poses essential questions: “What have we failed to hear? And how should we ethically confront that which remains unheard?”’
The biennial ACC prize, now in its second edition, aims to honour artists that reflect on the possibilities of the future via multidisciplinary practices combining art, media and technology. The inaugural winner was Ayoung Kim.
Read more about previous laureate, Ayoung Kim.
