The 8th Nam June Paik Prize 2024 goes to Joan Jonas

Her early works, which combined then-new technologies such as portable video cameras and television monitors with performance, questioned how people see, think, and act in the video age and raised questions that remain relevant. More recently, her work has challenged the dichotomies of civilization and nature and human and non-human, providing opportunities for critical reflection on anthropocentrism, and she continues to explore and deepen her artistic practice.

Funded by Gyeonggi-do Provincial Government and hosted by Nam June Paik Art Center, the Nam June Paik Prize was launched in 2009 and awarded seven times as “Nam June Paik Art Center Prize” until 2021. Over the past two years, the prize has been reorganized and the criteria used to select artists who have promoted mutual understanding and contributed to world peace through their art practice have been revised, augmenting the established criteria of creativity, experimentation, and innovation. In addition, the significance of holding a solo exhibition at Nam June Paik Art Center, Korea, and the potential to spread values have served as key criteria. Jonas's award is thus an encouraging outcome of the reorganization of the prize and its renaming as the Nam June Paik Prize.

In 2024, Nam June Paik Art Center appointed experts from around the world to administer the Nam June Paik Prize and focused on raising its global profile. The four-member Executive Committee assembled the ten-members of the International Nominating Committee who nominated one artist or team each, and the five-member Jury reviewed the 10 nominees to select the final winner. The jury consisted of Namhee Park, Director of Nam June Paik Art Center, as an ex-officio member and world-renowned art experts such as Frances Morris, a distinguished professor at Ewha Womans University and former director of Tate Modern, London, Sungwon Kim, the deputy director of the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, Rein Wolfs, director of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and Mami Kataoka, the director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.

Frances Morris, chair of the jury, observed that "Jonas not only played a key role in shaping early video and performance art but continues to explore urgent new terrain, most recently creating immersive installations that explore themes of ecology, landscape and kinship between humans and non-human species at a time of climate breakdown.” Park Namhee, director of Nam June Paik Art Center attributed to Jonas's work “the power of art to promote understanding of difference and expand thought" and stated "We hope that the prize will encourage the rich interpretation and transmission of Joan Jonas's art in the current moment." As a pioneer in video and performance art, Jonas is now often referred to as an "artist's artist," and her receipt of the award will not only provide an important impetus for young artists to continue their practice but also help introduce her work to audiences that have been difficult to reach in Korea.

Responded to the news about the award, Jonas said "I am honored to receive this prize, especially to remember Nam June, a great artist. It will be a pleasure to work with Nam June Paik Art Center on the show in 2025." The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, November 28, at 11 am at Nam June Paik Art Center. It will be accompanied by a screening of Jonas's early video work and a commemorative lecture, and it is free and open to the public. Jonas will receive a prize of KRW 50,000,000 and a trophy. In November 2025, Nam June Paik Art Center will host Jonas's first solo museum exhibition in Korea.

Main Image: Joan Jonas. Photo: Toby Coulson/Nam June Paik Center.