The artists nominated by

Louise Sinaga Helmfrid is a Swedish photographer and photo artist with Indonesian background, known for her intimate and colorful portraits that often integrate nature. Her work explores themes such as identity and cultural heritage. She has exhibited her work in places such as Fotografiska, Kulturhuset in Stockholm and Liljevalchs.In 2024, Louise was appointed as the resident of the year by the Sune Jonsson Center for Documentary Photography at Västerbotten Museum. During her two-month residency at the Sune Jonsson Center for Documentary Photography (SJCD) at Västerbotten Museum in the fall of 2024, Louise Sinaga Helmfrid focused on documenting the Asian minority in northern Sweden. She strived to portray these individuals beyond the stereotypes often found in media and popular culture, with a particular focus on examining the relationship between minorities and the national romantic aesthetic that has long characterized the image of northern Sweden.One of her most notable exhibitions, "Plastic Can Never Wither", was shown at the Center for Photography in Stockholm in 2024 and Liljevalchs spring salon in 2025. This portrait series examines the relationship between the Southeast and East Asian diaspora and Sweden. The project was inspired by the first Asian person Louise saw on Swedish television as a child, which led her to explore how this diaspora is represented in Sweden. With a solid track record and a number of previous projects that have addressed these complex topics in an engaging and insightful way, Louise continues to explore how images and narratives shape our perceptions of nation, culture and identity.

Joanna Chia-yu Lin explores memory and place through an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating photography, painting, textiles, and installations to trace connections between belonging, home, and the unspoken spaces where emotions and realities meet. Born in 1995 in Chiayi, Taiwan, and based in Oslo, Norway, Joanna holds an MFA in Medium and Materials-Based Art from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and a BFA in Fine Arts from National Taiwan Normal University. Her works have been shown in several venues in Norway, including Kunstplass, Tenthaus, the Photo Festival Oslo Negativ, Drammens Museum, and Northing Space. Upcoming exhibitions include Fotografiens Hus (Oslo), Yao’s Alternative Space, and Glitch (Taichung, Taiwan). She is a member of Tenthaus Collective, The Norwegian Association of Painters and The Association of Norwegian Visual Artists. Her works are in the collections of Västra Götalandsregionen, Sweden, and Art Bank Taiwan at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.