The VNG art initiative VNGart and the VNG Foundation honoured Dayoung Young with the VNGart Prize 2026 at the opening of the exhibition "Present Collective II". The second edition of the art prize, which is endowed with 3.000, two works were honoured that deal intensively with the topic of "Community in transition - artistic perspectives on cohesion" and artistically reflect current discourses. In addition to Dayoung Jung, David Kind from Burg Giebichenstein Academy of Art and Design Halle received the award.
Dayoung Jung (*1992 in Suwon, South Korea) is a media artist and student in the Installation and Space class at the HGB Leipzig. In her work, she deals with spaces as carriers of sensual, emotional and historical narratives. In the video and installation work "Du neben uns", which was submitted for the VNGart Prize, and the research work "We, We, We and We", she explores collective memory and marginalised perspectives. Her work combines personal narratives with archived photographs and visualises forms of shared history that have long been overlooked. The focus is on the question of how memory can be preserved, conveyed and historicised and whose voices are part of a shared culture of remembrance. In this context, Jung brings past and present into a sensitive dialogue with one another and understands community as a polyphonic and open narrative. Her works invite the audience to walk through certain spaces and senses of memory themselves.
"The award-winning works impressed the jury above all with their conceptual depth, formal precision and high social relevance. They address current issues with great sensitivity and each finds its own concise and moving visual language. The works of David Kind and Dayoung Jung combine aesthetic consistency with complexity of content and thus open up new perspectives on the defining themes of our time," explains Dr Jenny Graser, curator of the Museum of Fine Arts (MdbK) in Leipzig.
The art competition was open to students and graduates in their first year after graduating from renowned art academies in Central Germany. A total of almost 100 applications were received. The two award-winning students were able to impress a jury of eight experts from the region with their work. The VNGart Prize is awarded every two years and is one of the few art promotion prizes in Central Germany.
The award-winning works are part of the exhibition "Present Collective II: Umbrüche. Impulses from Central Germany" in the Werkschauhalle on the Spinnerei site. The exhibition, curated by Juness Beshir, shows a large number of works by the prizewinners from 2024 and 2026 from the VNGart collection as well as other artistic positions on the subject of upheavals. The exhibition is accessible free of charge until 16 May 2026 (opening hours: Wednesday to Friday, 12 to 5 pm; Saturday 11 am to 5 pm).