Two artists—New York-based Heidi Lau and Hong Kong-based Wong Ping—have been named joint winners of the biennial Sigg Prize 2025 awarded by the M+ museum in Hong Kong. Both artists receive HK$300,000 ($39,000) each.
The other shortlisted artists include Bi Rongrong, Ho Rui An, Hsu Chia-Wei and Pan Daijing, all of which will received HK$100,000 ($13,000) each as part of the prize’s third edition. The works of all the shortlisted artists are on view at M+ until 4 January.
Lau received her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from New York University in 2008, where she primarily studied printmaking and drawing. “Lau proposes alternate configurations of time and space through her ceramic practice,” says an M+ statement, and creates ceramics “residing on the spectrum between raw chaos and sculpted order”, says Artsy. Lau interweaves various themes and sentiments, encompassing ancient mythology and Taoist philosophy. She also focuses on family grief following the death of her mother.
Wong Ping with his work at the Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition
Photo: Dan Leung. Courtesy of M+, Hong Kong
“An animator and graphic designer, Wong creates vivid, dreamlike worlds that reflect modern society while alluding to social and political issues,” adds the M+ statement. His witty, explicit animation videos touch upon themes such as sexual repression, globalisation, twisted morality and the shortcomings of technology. “My working process is like a stand-up comedian’s…. they have punchlines and, at the end, they also reflect on social issues,” Wong said previously. The artist graduated with a BFA from Curtin University in Perth.
In the Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition, Lau presents Pavilion Procession (2025), an installation of ceramic sculptures featuring a programmed kinetic spider made of ceramic and mechanical parts. Wong’s video installation Debts in the Wind (2025) comprises a mini theatre decorated with artificial turf, hairy golf balls, and a flagpole.
The announcement of the Sigg Prize winners was postponed until 16 December out of respect for those affected by the fire in multiple high-rise apartments in the northern Tai Po district.
Established in 2018 by M+, the Sigg Prize “celebrates outstanding contemporary artists from Greater China and its diaspora”, says a statement. The Sigg Prize evolved from The Chinese Contemporary Art Award (CCAA) which was founded by the Swiss diplomat and collector Uli Sigg in 1997.
“My primary purposes in establishing the [CCAA] award were to give encouragement to artists with talent, to enhance awareness on the part of a largely uninterested Chinese public, and to bring prominent international professionals to the Chinese art scene,” said Sigg in 2018.
