The Barcelona-based Han Nefkens Foundation has awarded its Southeast Asian Video Art Production Grant 2026 to Thai artist-filmmaker Chantana Tiprachart. One of the organization’s five annual USD 15,000 awards, the initiative supports emerging video artists from the region who have not yet received opportunities to exhibit widely on an international scale.

Born in 1991 in Kalasin, northeastern Thailand, and now based in Bangkok, Tiprachart creates films and moving-image installations that probe the complexities of marginalized identities while highlighting shared narratives. Her works have been exhibited across Thailand and beyond, with notable projects including The Artificial II (2025), commissioned for Thailand Biennial Phuket 2025; SOO-KWAN2022 (2022), produced by the Han Nefkens Foundation in collaboration with Bangkok’s Ghost2565 festival in 2022; and Lhai Thorn (2020), presented at the 2020 Bangkok Art Biennale, among others. 

In a press release, the jury praised Tiprachart’s artistic evolution, noting that her practice is “marked by intimacy and interiority, locating the social and political within quiet, everyday spaces, . . . rendering visible and audible the subtleties that often go unnoticed.” They added, “In a time defined by noise, speed, and information overload, her commitment to stillness and reflection feels both urgent and necessary.” 

Tiprachart expressed her gratitude in a statement, describing the grant as “vital oxygen that proves creative liberty is possible when there is a foundation of true understanding. Staying true to one’s vision is difficult in a society that overlooks art’s role as a mirror and a chronicle of our era. . . . I am thankful for this opportunity, which offers more than just the means to produce—it offers a small, meaningful space to breathe.”

As part of the prize, Tiprachart will receive USD 15,000 to develop a new work over nine months, which will be presented in 2027–28 at each of the foundation's partner institutions: MUSEION - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Bolzano, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai, the Outpost Art Organisation in Hanoi, Nottingham Contemporary, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Yuqian Fan is an editorial assistant at ArtAsiaPacific.