ADMAF honours Korean visionary artist Lee Bul with Abu Dhabi Festival Award

Art and Museum

ADMAF honours Korean visionary artist Lee Bul with Abu Dhabi Festival Award

The Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) has honoured renowned Korean artist Lee Bul with the prestigious Abu Dhabi Festival Award, strengthening cultural ties between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Korea.

Presented under the honorary founding patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Founding Honorary Patron of Abu Dhabi Festival, the award was conferred during ADMAF’s Art @ Embassies initiative in Seoul on December 17. The accolade, presented in collaboration with Chopard, is awarded annually to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to culture.

The award recognises Lee Bul’s significant impact on contemporary visual art and her influential role in shaping artistic discourse at both regional and global levels. The presentation was made by His Excellency Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Korea; H.E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of ADMAF and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival; and Huh Yong-soo, CEO of GS Energy and Vice Chairman of GS Group.

Lee Bul is widely regarded as one of South Korea’s most influential contemporary artists, with an international reputation for her interdisciplinary practice spanning sculpture, installation, performance, and painting. Her work is known for blending futuristic imagination with critical social commentary, exploring themes of utopia, technological transformation, and societal constraints. Through immersive installations and cyborg imagery, Lee challenges perceptions of the body, politics, and liberation, while examining the fragility of progress-driven ideals.

Her four-decade career includes major international commissions, most recently The Genesis Facade Commission at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, on view from 2024 to 2025. Reflecting ADMAF’s commitment to cultural diplomacy, Lee Bul’s work was also featured in Layered Medium: We are in Open Circuits, presented by ADMAF in collaboration with the Seoul Museum of Art as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025 at Manarat Al Saadiyat in May.

Following the award presentation, ADMAF hosted a panel discussion in Seoul as part of its Art @ Embassies cultural diplomacy programme. Titled The Art that Bonds and organised in partnership with the UAE Embassy to the Republic of Korea under the Abu Dhabi Festival Abroad initiative, the discussion brought together curator Maya El Khalil and Emirati multimedia conceptual artist Moza Al Matrooshi.

The panel explored the role of visual culture in fostering mutual understanding and strengthening cross-cultural connections. Through personal reflections and professional insights, speakers examined how artistic practice, curatorial frameworks, and cultural exchange initiatives function as powerful tools for diplomacy, dialogue, and shared humanity.