Julius Baer Art Prize Virtual Showcase 2023

 Julius Baer, the leading Swiss wealth management group has launched the new artworks by the six winners of the second edition of the Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize in a unique virtual showcase. This Asian art prize exemplifies Julius Baer’s dedication to supporting the arts and nurturing future talents at the intersection of art and technology.

The newly completed digital artworks by the Prize Winners are featured within an immersive ‘meta-world’ that represents a futuristic floating city in Asia. Open from now until 31 August 2023, the audience can view the artworks on the bank’s website or access the virtual exhibition to view them in 3D in an interactive environment while learning about the artists and their creative processes.

These artworks showcase innovation and delve into human connections in a world increasingly driven by AI, data, and technology. Drawing inspiration from the megatrend themes of Future Cities, Digital Disruption, and Sustainability, these artworks creatively address real-world challenges while illuminating the trends that shape the future.

The evocative showcase of artworks includes:

• ‘Pathfinder’ by Viraag Desai is an interactive, digital re-envisioning of historical relief, an alternate look at the history of craft through different materials and time periods. Hand- sculpted using Virtual Reality and voxel tools, it pays homage to past sculptors and muralists while examining the impact of the Anthropocene.

• Future Retro Future’ by André Wee re-envisions a new retro future as it draws upon nostalgia and offers a counterbalance to technological overload while promoting sustainability and cultural heritage and enabling alternative visions of the future.

• ‘Traces of Space Beyond’ by Carla Chan is an ever-evolving visual journey, propelled in real-time by Zurich’s weather, population, and flight data. It portrays the interconnectedness of earthly events and human influence, calling for careful observation and balance between progress and sustainability.

• ‘City in Aether’ by Chan Wan Kyn emphasises pausing to appreciate and reflect on changes in the culture and values of an ever-evolving cityscape. The work is derived from personal and communal data, stimulating contemplation on technology and the role of urban planning in shaping the future.

• ‘Scars, Skins, and Styles: Metamorphosis in the Metaverse’ by Jamela Law is a community art project where under-represented individuals co-design empowering representations of themselves alongside the artist, using digital fashion technologies to harness the power of Enclothed Cognition as experimental art therapy tools in virtual reality.

• ‘Algorithm Actually’ by Natalie Wong is a digital artwork that uses an individual’s dating app data to generate a 3D motion dynamic artwork, visualising real-time expressions of human connections in the modern dating world. The work explores the role of language in the self-presentation of identity in order to find emotional reciprocity in the digital age.

The Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize Virtual Showcase is now open for the public to explore and appreciate these groundbreaking artworks. From now until 31st August 2023, art enthusiasts and technology aficionados alike can view the showcase through the Julius Baer announcement website. Alternatively, visitors may access the virtual exhibition in 3D through an interactive environment hosted on MeshMinds’ site.

Venue: https://www.meshminds.com/nextgenerationartprize

Feature image: Algorithm Actually (2023) by Natalie Wong