Saule Suleimenova, ‘Civil Registration Service’ #3, 2018, plastic bags on polycarbonate sheet, 105 x 130cm. Image courtesy the artist.

The 14th edition of Sovereign Asian Art Prize for contemporary artists has chosen 30 finalists from the 328 mid-career artists nominated. All shortlisted artworks will go on show at The James Christie Room at Christie’s Hong Kong from 8 – 10 May.

Lv Shanchuan, ‘Sea Medium’, 2018, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 x 5cm. Image courtesy the artist.

Chui Pui Chee, ‘There’s the snow again’ IX, 2018, ink and colour on golden paper, 94 x 150 x 5cm. Image courtesy the artist.

Entries of the competition are shortlisted by an international panel of art specialists who work closely with artists in their respective regions. They include notable figures such as Alexandra A. Seno, Head of Development at Asia Art, Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of the Financial Times and contemporary artist Rashid Rana.

Noriko Yamaguchi, ‘Russian Cops’, 2018, oil on canvas, 100 x 80cm. Image courtesy the artist.

Wawi Navarroza, ‘I Want To Live A Thousand More Years (Self-Portrait After Dengue, with tropical plants and fake flowers)’, 2018, archival pigment print on museum paper, 127 x 102cm. Image courtesy the artist.

Entries of the Prize include artworks across the Asia-Pacific regions, with strong representation of Pakistan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. “Since its beginning, the prize has reflected the mosaic of culture throughout this vast region” says Chair Judge David Elliot.

This year, the works engage topics such as identity, cultural heritage and displacement, time and memory, social pressures and political tension. These themes are resonant of The Sovereign Art Foundation’s (SAF) social responsibility projects.

Boo Sze Yang, ‘The Gateway’ #4, 2018, oil on linen, 150 x 150 x 5cm. Image courtesy the artist.

The SAF is a charity registered in Hong Kong, Guernsey, Singapore, South Africa and the UK, helming art empowerment programs geared towards vulnerable populations. Benefitting children in Cambodia, Nepal, Vietnam and Mongolia, the SAF has raised over US$6 million for charities and artists worldwide.

The general public can choose their favourite works through the SAF web gallery and Facebook page.

Zhao, ‘Deer Park, Japan’, from the series Natural History, 2018, archival pigment print, 111 x 74 x 4cm. Image courtesy the artist.

Saima Rasheed, ‘a reader’, 2018, mixed media on paper, 22 x 28 x 1cm. Image courtesy the artist.

The Grand Prize and Public Vote Prize winning artists, to be awarded US$30,000 and US$1,000 respectively, will be announced at The Sovereign Art Foundation’s ‘Make It Better’ Gala Dinner and Auction on 11 May, at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong.

More information at sovereignartfoundation.com