Arpita Akhanda, an Indian Contemporary Artist Weaves Paper into 30,000 USD Prize money from Sovereign Art Foundation
Arpita Akhanda, a Odisha born Artist, won the 2025 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, taking home $30,000 for her work titled Dendritic Data Ib(2024).
The weaving of paper which as a process reflects on identity and memory, emerged from her fascination with the dendritic patterns she discovered on a rock during her residency at Hampi Labs, Karnataka.
Initially mistaking the markings for a fossil, Akhanda came to know the drainage patterns resembled tree branches, a revelation that let her transgress into an artistic exploration of ancient iconography and landscape.
Courtesy- Vouge India
The Sovereign Asian Art Prize 2025
Launched in 2003, The Sovereign Asian Art Prize has been effectively increasing the international exposure of artists in the region, while raising funds for programmes that support disadvantaged children using expressive arts.
After being nominated by Sadya Mizan who is an Independent curator and Researcher, Akhanda triumphed over 36 other finalists. The judging panel, chaired by David Elliott, praised her “poetic, multidisciplinary approach,” noting how she conjoins the traditional weaving techniques with themes of landscape and traumatic memory into her works.
Other awardees include South Korean artist Yujung Kim, who received the Vogue Hong Kong Women’s Art Prize and $5,000 for The Island That Swallowed The Moon, The Drifting Day (2024). Kim’s work is an exploration of the ornamental use of plants in urban spaces, through a fresco technique of scratching and carving black pigment on lime mortar. Elliott described Kim’s method as embodying “layering, destruction, and time.”
Alongside Elliott, this year’s judging panel featured Bangkok Art Biennale’s artistic director Apinan Poshyananda and Singapore Art Museum’s senior curator Haeju Kim.
Richa Agarwal on Arpita Akhanda’s Sovereign Asian Art Prize 2025
Courtesy- OCULA
Akhanda’s victory is yet another significant milestone in contemporary Indian art. Richa Agarwal, CEO of Emami Art, Kolkata, which represents the artist, Arpita Akhanda says,
Arpita Akhanda’s multidisciplinary practice exemplifies the strength and depth of contemporary artistic voices emerging from India.
At Emami Art, we are deeply committed to supporting artists, particularly from the eastern and northeastern regions, providing them with the platform and visibility they deserve. Arpita’s achievement is not just a personal milestone but a testament to the boundless possibilities that await artists dedicated to pushing artistic and conceptual boundaries.
Courtesy- Emami Art Gallery
“The 36 finalists’ works will be exhibited at Phillips’ Asia headquarters in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District from March 21 to 29. Following the exhibition, the works will be included in Phillips’ New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art and Design sale on March 29.
Feature Image Courtesy- Artwork that won the Sovereign Asian Art Prize/OCULA
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