2026 Hadley’s Art Prize Goes to Robert Fielding

Robert Fielding has been named the recipient of this year’s AUD 100,000 (USD 70,500) Hadley’s Art Prize, an annual acquisitive award for Australian landscape art. An artist of Pakistani, Afghan, Western Arrernte, and Yankunytjatjara descent, Fielding lives and works in the Mimili community on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. Through photography, painting, sculpture, and new media, Fielding probes questions of cultural reclamation, collective memory, and Indigenous identity. His winning piece, Landscape (2026), draws on the Aboriginal tradition of dot painting, depicting a pile of abandoned cars as a form of protest against their forced removal to wrecking yards. Speaking with Financial Review, Fielding explained, “It’s about the journey of those cars, the families that traveled . . . between communities for ceremony, to reunite, to grieve.” He added that these cars “held song, dust, laughter, and death. Over time, they became memorials—markers of elders, resting places embedded within Country.” In a press release, the jury described Fielding’s canvas as “impressive and unexpected,” and that it “encapsulate[s] memory and loss, revealing a landscape which is lived and still sacred.” Fielding expressed his gratitude in a statement, remarking: “This painting is about relationship: relationship with Country, with my Elders, with community, and with myself.” The works of all 27 finalists will be exhibited at Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart through August 23.

Shinsegae Group Joins Frieze Seoul as Headline Partner

South Korea’s Shinsegae Group has signed a five-year agreement with Frieze Seoul, joining the event as its headline partner from 2026 to 2030. As the first domestic retailer to hold the position, the group will support the fair’s overall operations. Shinsegae said the partnership will combine retail with the arts and help expand overseas opportunities for Korean galleries and artists. The group will also operate a dedicated lounge open to all fair visitors. Frieze Seoul 2026 will run from September 2–5 at COEX in the city’s Gangnam district, with more than 125 participating galleries from 30 countries. The partnership marks the latest in decades of Shinsegae’s nationwide cultural initiatives, which began with the opening of Shinsegae Gallery in 1963, and have since grown to include the Gwangju Shinsegae Art Festival in 1996, Starfield Library in 2017, and most recently, Myeong-dong’s cultural complex, The Heritage, in 2025. In a statement, Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin said: “Through our collaboration with Frieze Seoul, we aim to create differentiated customer experiences and strengthen our position as a lifestyle platform.”

Kiaf SEOUL Announces Participants for 2026 Edition

Kiaf SEOUL, South Korea’s longest-running international art fair, has announced the exhibitor lineup for its 25th edition, set to run from September 2–6 in the city’s Gangnam district, coinciding with the fifth iteration of Frieze Seoul. Directed by Kuho Jung under the theme “Coexistence,” this year’s fair brings together 175 galleries from 18 countries and regions. Leading galleries in Korea—such as Gallery Hyundai, Kukje Gallery, Arario Gallery, and Hakgojae, among others—will be joined by international players including Hong Kong’s Whitestone Gallery, Tokyo’s Gallery Tsubaki, and Houston’s Art of the World Gallery. Among the 20 first-time participants are New York’s Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles’s Jacob Arthur Gallery, St. Petersburg’s Anna Nova, and London’s JD Malat. The forthcoming edition will feature two returning sectors: Kiaf PLUS, dedicated to experimental, emerging galleries and artists; and an expanded Kiaf HIGHLIGHTS section, a curated program spotlighting 10 artists selected by an independent jury of art professionals. In a statement, Sunghoon Lee, chairman of the fair’s operating committee and president of the Galleries Association of Korea, said: “Kiaf will continue to strengthen its position as an international platform . . . to present diverse perspectives and possibilities in contemporary art.”

Shanghai Institutions Establish Museum Healing Alliance

Multiple institutions across Shanghai have joined forces to launch the Museum Healing Alliance, dedicated to providing museum-based mental health support through art-related activities. Marking the first of its kind in China, the initiative builds on an existing prescription program kickstarted in June by the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (SSTM) and the Shanghai Mental Health Center, which allows healthcare professionals to refer their patients to cultural institutions to recuperate through engaging with art, music, and nature. The new, expanded coalition comprises a variety of citywide establishments, from hospitals and community organizations to public museums, universities, libraries, and botanical gardens. Among the museums that have joined the alliance are the Duolun Museum of Modern Art, the Being Art Museum, the Shanghai University Art Museum, and the Shanghai Natural History Museum (SNHM). At a press conference, Song Xian, who helms the science outreach at SSTM as well as the exhibition and education center at SNHM, called on more institutions to partake in the endeavor, emphasizing that “museums have a responsibility to care for people.”