Haji Oh Wins Innovation Award at 2026 Asia Pacific Arts Awards
Creative Australia has named Haji Oh as the recipient of the Innovation category at the 2026 Asia Pacific Arts Awards, recognising Australian-based artists, collectives and organisations whose work reflects sustained creative collaboration across the region. The awards acknowledge distinctive approaches to practice, engagement and process that build meaningful cultural connections throughout Asia and the Pacific.
Creative Australia CEO Adrian Collette said the 2026 recipients demonstrate the strength of Australia’s cultural relationships in the region. “The recipients of the 2026 Asia Pacific Arts Awards exemplify the depth of creative leadership that exists across Australia’s engagement with the region. We are proud to recognise practices that strengthen cultural relationships and contribute so significantly to Australia’s cultural life,” he said.
Oh is an artist and third-generation member of Japan’s Zainichi Korean community who later migrated to Australia. She holds a PhD in Fine Arts from Kyoto City University of Arts and is currently a recipient of the Tokyo Contemporary Art Award (2024–2026).
Her installation-based practice incorporates weaving, dyeing, unravelling, cyanotype and audio. Drawing on her experience as a descendant of migrants, Oh creates works that give form to unspoken memories, particularly those of women and unnamed individuals. Through collaborative processes, including community engagement and workshops, her practice considers how memory is inherited, shared and reshaped across generations and geographies.
