The Won Lee Award Winning Artist Exhibition

“I can’t imagine my life without creating.

During the creative process, I both find and lose myself.

It is the only time in which ‘I’ am not trapped

in the constructed box we are forced into.”

The Won Lee Award Winning Artist Exhibition

honors the artistic vision of the late sculptor Lee Won-hyung (1946–2021)

and celebrates the emerging work of his junior artists with disabilities. 

Despite the physical limitations caused by polio,

Lee worked with heavy materials such as bronze,

seeking to capture human suffering and hope.

In 2018, he established the Won Lee Award.

This embodies a spirit of solidarity that goes beyond presenting an award;

it reflects a senior artist’s belief in and support for the potential of young artists. 

This exhibition showcases the works of eight disabled artists

recognized through the Won Lee Award,

highlighting their dedication,

creative exploration, and future possibilities.

Although Lee Won-hyung immigrated to Canada and worked there,

he established the Won Lee Award to continue encouraging

and supporting the creative work of artists with disabilities in his home country.

The prize is open to disabled artists across all fields of visual art,

and one recipient is selected through a judging process

to receive a plaque and cash award.

To date, eight artists have been honored with this Award.