The Ilwoo Foundation, a public interest foundation under the Hanjin Group, announced that artist Yo-E Ryou has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 ILWOO Art Award.
 
Hanjin Group established the ILWOO Photo Award in 2009 and, through thirteen editions of the competition held until 2022, supported 36 photographers. Beginning in 2024, the award was reorganized and relaunched under the new title of the ILWOO Art Award.
 
A total of 125 applicants participated in the 2026 open call, and through a highly competitive selection process, Yo-E Ryou was chosen as the final award recipient. Working primarily with video, performance, and sound, the artist has developed a distinctive artistic language grounded in experiences with the Jeju haenyeo community.

In her representative work Why I Swim, Yo-E Ryou explores the relationship between the individual and the community by likening the process of learning to swim in Jeju to “a process of rethinking the sensations of learning and control.” She also participated as the only Korean artist in the main exhibition 《In Minor Keys》 at the 61st Venice Biennale.
 
The jury consisted of five members: Yukie Kamiya, Senior Curator at The National Art Center, Tokyo; Sim Sang-yong, Professor in the Department of Sculpture at Seoul National University; Yuli Yoon, Senior Curator at Ilmin Museum of Art; Jeesun Park, Korea VIP Representative and Asia Director at Schwartzman& for Art Basel; and James Taylor-Foster, Director of Parasite Hong Kong.

The award recipient will receive KRW 30 million in production support, along with airline tickets worth KRW 30 million to support future artistic activities. In addition, Yo-E Ryou will present a new body of work through a solo exhibition at Ilwoo Space, the exhibition space operated by the Ilwoo Foundation.
 
Following this schedule, 2024 award recipient Nam Hwayeon will present an exhibition this year, 2025 recipient An Jungju in 2027, and 2026 recipient Yo-E Ryou in 2028.

References

• 일우재단 보도자료 (Ilwoo Foundation Press Release)