The Asia Culture Center in Gwangju has been one of the more serious public commissioners of art-and-technology work in Asia, and its ACC NEXT 2027 open call is now announced. This is a funded exhibition opportunity rather than a prize, which makes it considerably more useful than most calls we list.
The essentials
- Applications open: October 1, 2026
- Deadline: October 25, 2026, 11:59pm KST, online through the ACC website
- Results: review in November, announcements by November 30, 2026
- Theme: “Prototype” — the prototype as an original form that distills essential value and serves as a departure point for innovation
- Field: art and technology, explicitly including interactive installation, generative video and image, kinetic and robotic art, and immersive/XR work
Eligibility
- Asian nationals born on or after January 1, 1987 (under 40 as of 2026). Artists born or raised in Asia may apply regardless of nationality if the work engages Asian cultural, social or historical identities.
- A track record is required: at least one solo exhibition, or participation in a national/public art museum exhibition, or three or more group exhibitions.
- Non-Korean applicants must be eligible for a Korean visa.
What you get
Roughly ten individuals or teams are selected. Per work:
- KRW 3,000,000 artist fee
- Up to KRW 2,000,000 for installation and materials
- International round-trip airfare (or domestic transport)
- Accommodation at Asia Plex Studio
- Exhibition at ACC Creation Space 5, April 2 – August 22, 2027 (tentative)
- One selected artist or team is offered a 2027 ACC CREATORS Residency
A five-month institutional exhibition with production support, travel and housing is a substantially better deal than a cash prize you have to ship work to. The fee is modest on its own, but the combination — materials budget, flights, accommodation, a long run in a well-resourced venue, plus a residency for one participant — is real career infrastructure for an early-career artist.
Worth noting
The window is short: 25 days, and it opens in two weeks. If this fits your practice, use the gap to prepare documentation now rather than waiting for October 1. Institutional panels reviewing technology-based work want to see that a piece can actually be installed and maintained: include a technical rider, power and space requirements, and clear video of the work running with people using it.
The “Prototype” theme also rewards reading carefully. It favors work presented as an unfinished form to build on rather than a finished object, which is an unusually good fit for artists whose practice is iterative or research-led.