This article from ArtAsiaPacific reports on three recent art awards. Iraqi artist Ali Eyal received the Hammer Museum's $100,000 Mohn Award for emerging artists in Los Angeles. Japanese artist Mari Katayama won the inaugural ¥10 million Mori Art Award from the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo. Korean media artist Jeamin Cha secured the Hermès Foundation's 21st Missulsang, receiving KRW 30 million and production support for a solo exhibition at Atelier Hermès in Seoul in 2027.
These awards highlight the growing international recognition of emerging and mid-career artists from the Middle East and Asia, with significant financial support and institutional backing. The prizes also reflect a trend of major foundations and museums investing in underrepresented regions and experimental practices, such as Katayama's handsewn sculptures and Cha's media art, signaling a broadening of the contemporary art world's geographic and thematic focus.