SOUGWEN CHUNG
Sougwen 愫君 Chung is a Chinese-Canadian artist and researcher, widely considered a pioneer in the field of human-machine collaboration. They explore the marks made by hand and the marks made by machine as an approach to understanding the dynamics between humans and systems.
Sougwen’s work, MEMORY (Drawing Operations Unit: Generation 2), is part of the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and is the first AI model to be collected by a major institution. Recently, Chung was recognized as a Cultural Leader at the World Economic Forum, one of four recipients of the TIME100 Impact award, and named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI.
Chung’s speculative critical practice spans performance, installation, and drawings which have been featured in numerous exhibitions at museums and galleries around the world.
Chung is a former research fellow at MIT’s Media Lab and a pioneer in the field of human-machine collaboration. In 2019, they were selected as the Woman of the Year in Monaco for achievement in the Arts & Sciences and received the Lumen Prize for Art in Technology. They are a featured TED Speaker, discussing their process in post-human collaboration and their project using AI and robots was featured on the cover of Art in America. In 2018, they were an inaugural E.A.T. Artist in Resident in partnership with New Museum and Bell Labs, and were awarded a commission for their project Omnia per Omnia. In 2016, Chung received Japan Media Art’s Excellence Award in for their project, Drawing Operations.
Chung has been awarded Artist in Residence positions at Google, Eyebeam, Japan Media Arts, and Pier 9 Autodesk. In 2014, they were selected as one of the Top 20 New Visual Artists by Print Magazine.
Their work has been exhibited internationally, including at the National Art Center, Tokyo; NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC], Tokyo, Japan; ArtScience Museum, Singapore; MIT Media Lab, Cambridge; The Drawing Center, New York; The New Museum (Sky Room), New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Geneva; Mana Contemporary, New York, Tribeca Film Festival, New York; The Hospital Club, London; Mutek Festival, Montreal & Mexico City; Sonar Festival, Barcelona.
Their work has also been featured in The New Yorker, Wired, Art F City, Dazed and Confused, The Creators Project, MASHABLE, Engadget, Business Insider, Fast Company and USA Today. She has spoken internationally at conferences including Global Art Forum, Singapore; World Science Festival, New York; Cannes Lions, Cannes; WSJ's Future of Everything Conference, New York; Tribeca Film Festival Interactive, New York; OFFF, Barcelona; FITC, Tokyo; Internet Dargana, Stockholm; SXSW, Austin; The Art Directors Club, New York.
