open call for proposals: wma commission 2025/26 hope

WMA Commission supports artists and photographers to undertake new bodies of work or extension of existing lens-based projects related to the biennial theme. We are now calling for proposals that encompass a broad range of ideas, visual expressions, and mediums, as long as lens-based media (including still and moving image) remains a core component of the project. We acknowledge the diversity and multidisciplinary nature of photographic practices, which may incorporate other mediums such as performance and writing.

WMA will award two commissions under this thematic cycle. Each awardee will receive a grant of HKD250,000 to research, develop, and produce the proposed artworks. The awarded projects must be completed within one year, during which the awardees will receive personalised mentorship and guidance from the WMA team as well as our international network. The final works will be exhibited individually at the WMA Space in Hong Kong as part of a solo exhibition. Details of the project execution and exhibition production budget will be agreed upon between the artists and the WYNG Foundation. By the end of the project period, the awardees shall donate an edition of the completed work(s) to the Foundation.

Your proposal will be evaluated by the judging panel based on the following criteria:

• Alignment with WMA's mission: to raise social awareness and a greater understanding of Hong Kong facilitated by lens-based art
• How the proposed project manifest and enrich the notion and possibilities of hope in the worlds we live in
• Project objectives, creativity, feasibility, and impact. The proposal should indicate clearly how it will be realised as a physical exhibition at the WMA Space in Hong Kong, alongside related programme ideas.
• We encourage proposals to consider WMA as a collaborative platform, and make suggestions towards the curators, researchers, and creatives with whom the project will be carried out with.

This year's Commission is primarily interested in proposals that unpack and complicate the concept of hope. The following elements and ideas are provided as points of reference; your project should not be limited to these suggestions:

• Symbolisms of hope
• Art, the imaginative futures, and hope
• The social condition of hope
• Adaptive resilience
• Generative AI and alternative realities
• Ecological perspectives
• Speculative fiction and myth-making
• The virtues of hope
• Storytelling that defies stereotyping and promotes diversity
• Collective action and shared purpose for building and sustaining hope