Objectifs Women in Focus Art Prize 2025
Objectifs is proud to announce the winner of our inaugural Women in Focus Art Prize: Sim Chi Yin. The Objectifs Women in Focus Art Prize was established in 2025 to celebrate and support the exceptional work of mid-career artists who work primarily in lens-based medium, and who are now at a pivotal stage in their careers.
The Objectifs Women in Focus Art Prize aims to recognise the achievements of artists who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in their body of work, with a focus on practices that are socially engaged or create space for impact, questioning, and dialogue. The Prize also reaffirms Objectifs’ commitment to amplifying visual stories by women and non-binary artists, and the value of supporting practitioners at different stages of their careers.
A Singaporean artist whose research-driven practice spans photography, film, installation, performance, and book-making, Sim Chi Yin uses artistic and archival interventions to contest and complicate historiographies and colonial narratives. She holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London and was a Whitney Museum Independent Study Program fellow (2022–23). Her work has been shown internationally at the Venice Biennale, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), Barbican Centre (London), Harvard Art Museums, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Istanbul Biennale, and more. Her work is held in major collections across Singapore and abroad.
“In her explorations of issues ranging from colonial narratives to nuclear proliferation, Sim Chi Yin’s work exemplifies gravitas and sophistication in its depth and breath. Her use of photography has evolved from a photojournalistic approach to a multidisciplinary practice that folds rigorous research into sensitive, thoughtful interventions that address contemporary concerns and gaps in history. Chi Yin has achieved international recognition for her work, and continues to break new ground as an individual practitioner and with new collaborators. In awarding her the inaugural Women In Focus Art Prize, the judges celebrate her many accomplishments and her commitment to her art practice.” – Jury’s Citation
We welcomed Chi Yin back in Singapore in Jan 2026 for an artist talk, and she will also receive a non-restricted prize of SGD8,000 for this award. We are proud to celebrate Chi Yin’s incredible achievements, and can’t wait to see her continue to push the boundaries of representing Singapore-based practice on international platforms and beyond.
Women in Focus Art Prize Runner-up: Wawi Navarroza
“Wawi Navarroza has built an impressive photographic practice that has centred Southeast Asian identity and womanhood, with an oeuvre that shows a wide visual vocabulary and high level of technical mastery. In awarding her the runner up prize, the judges recognise Wawi’s distinctive visual voice and her exceptional achievements internationally, which has established her as one of the foremost names in contemporary art and photography.” – Jury’s Citation
Wawi Navarroza is a Filipina lens-based artist recognized for her vibrant large format photographic tableaus, landscapes, and self-portraits which comment on identity, photography, and place. Informed by post-colonial dialogue, globalization and her experiences as transnational, female, Southeast Asian and Filipina, Wawi creates multi-layered in-studio bricolage with camera and lighting techniques that unapologetically reclaim the heritage of polychrome and reimagine the collage-like flatness of oriental art.
Wawi has exhibited widely, and her works have been collected and published internationally. We are pleased to spotlight Wawi for this prize, celebrating her more than two decades of art practice and her transformative role in contemporary photography.
Women in Focus Art Prize Runner-up: Nana Buxani
“Nana Buxani’s work highlights social issues in The Philippines and gives voice to marginalised communities. In awarding Nana the runner up award, we celebrate her longstanding commitment to her practice, which shows the continued importance of documentary photography and how images can be agents of positive social change.” – Jury’s Citation
Born in conflict ridden region of Mindanao in 1966, Nana Buxani is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and visual artist whose work largely deals with issues such as child labour, children and women in difficult situations, children in detention, the plight of homeless people, communities in war-torn regions, the indigenous people and their claim to ancestral lands, urban poor communities, and people engaged in cooperative building.
We are honoured to celebrate Nana’s commitment to illuminate unseen worlds and foster a profound connection with the human spirit, using the power of visual storytelling to advocate for social awareness and change.
Women in Focus Art Prize Special Mentions
Wei Leng Tay (Singapore)
Irene Barlian (Indonesia)
Minstrel Kuik (Malaysia)
We wish to thank our esteemed jury, Dr. Charmaine Toh, Yvonne Tham and Loudres A. Samson, as well as all the nominators for this Prize. The next Women in Focus Art Prize focuses on practitioners working in film, and the Open Call will be announced in late 2026.