By Emily McDermott

MGM has partnered with Art Basel to launch the MGM Discoveries Art Prize at Art Basel Hong Kong. The new initiative aims to celebrate the originality and innovative artworks on display in the fair’s Discoveries sector, where galleries showcase emerging artists from around the world in solo presentations. Selected by a jury of five international art experts, this year’s winner, Shin Min, will receive a cash prize of USD 50,000, to be shared with her gallery, P21 (Seoul). Additionally, Min will have the opportunity to visit Macau, one of the most vibrant cultural tourism destinations in China, and explore its cultural landscapes, as well as spotlight her outstanding works and share her artistic journey with Macau’s creative talents, inspiring further creativity and ideas.

‘MGM and Art Basel Hong Kong share a common vision of fostering global artistic and cultural development. The joint establishment of the ‘MGM Discoveries Art Prize’ is a commitment to discovering emerging artists and celebrate their originality and creativity, offering a platform to thrive their potential and grow. In addition, through the international cultural endeavors, Macau is uniting closely with Hong Kong and the global stage, expanding Macau’s global network and exchange’ said Pansy Ho, Chairperson and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited.

Min won the jury over with her Discoveries booth entitled ‘Ew! There is hair in the food!!’ (2025), presented by P21. Drawing from her personal experiences in high-intensity, low-wage service jobs at large corporations like McDonald’s and Starbucks, the Korean artist uses her work to explore the complexities and harsh realities of service labor, particularly in relation to gender and class. She uses paper objects associated with the industry, such as the packaging for McDonald’s French fries, to sculpt casts of characters, onto which she draws faces and clothing.

At the center of the booth stands Semi (2025), a giant bust based on Min dressed in her Starbucks uniform. Surrounding it are smaller sculptures showing women in the same outfit, all wearing hairnets, while the artist’s drawings of the same image adorn the walls of the booth. The chorus of exasperated, furious, and exhausted women embody their real-life counterparts’ collective resilience.

Upon receiving the award, Min remarked, ‘This is the first time I’ve participated in Art Basel and I noticed that there are also people working behind the scene providing services in security, cleaning, and food and beverage at the show. I hope they find my work amusing, relatable, and comforting. 'Soo Choi of P21 added, 'I am beyond grateful that the artist is able to pursue her practice with freedom with this prize. It is very rewarding to receive love from the audience.’

Other artists shortlisted for the prize included Kayode Ojo and Saju Kunhan, whose works are being presented by Sweetwater, Berlin (Berlin) and Tarq (Mumbai) respectively. Recurring throughout Ojo’s presentation entitled ‘Embouchure’ (2025) has a singular motif: the necklace. In the US artist’s hands it is represented through the booth’s titular sculpture, a monumental necklace made of 33 flutes strung together with chains and hanging from the ceiling, and photographs of necklaced people. Sculpture and photography are at the core of Ojo’s practice, which explores interpersonal relations, pop culture, and ersatz glamor in candid images as well as more conceptual ways. His interest in flutes, for instance, dates back to his childhood: When asked what instrument he wanted to learn to play in elementary school, he said the flute – not only because he liked the way it looked, but also because it was the easiest to fake playing during class or a performance. In this way, it stands in for the act of performance itself.

Kunhan, on the other hand, engages with historical archives, reflecting on the themes of migration, displacement, identity, memory, space, and time. His Discoveries booth entitled ‘11th May 1980 Wedding Day’ (2025) features unique wall-based works rooted in photographs from a familial wedding album but ultimately rendered in paint on recycled teak wood. The booth’s titular artwork, comprising 32 panels, shows a couple who is either about to be or has just been married, with friends, family, and a bus in the background. As written in a catalogue essay for the artist’s solo show at Tarq in 2022, ‘A family history is always representative of something much larger than itself: the social, political and cultural shifts experienced by the geography in which it is set engineers its sudden detours. Kunhan follows its routes; he is less interested in evidence that is materially traceable, and more in what lingers more ephemerally, more abstractly – in the senses, and in the small remembrances of the mind.’

Speaking of their decision, the jury said in a statement, 'This award celebrates Min’s bold vision and commitment to artistic excellence as she uses potent symbolism and personal experiences to confront societal norms and systemic injustices.'

This year’s jury comprised an impressive array of artworld figures: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Jameel, Dubai; Aaron Cezar, founding Director, Delfina Foundation, London; Christopher K. Ho, Executive Director, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; Sam Seungho Park, Chairperson of the Board, Park Seobo Foundation, Seoul; and X Zhu-Nowell, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai.