Hyundai Motor opens art exhibition in Beijing exploring science, technology and spirituality

Hyundai Motor is hosting an exhibition in Beijing that examines the relationship between science, technology and spirituality — using the automaker's cultural space to ask, through the language of art, how technology shapes human life and our understanding of the world.

Hyundai Motor announced Monday that "Prayer to Fornax: Science, Technology and Spirituality," the first exhibition of its Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 program, opened Saturday at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing in China. The exhibition runs through Dec. 13.

Hyundai Blue Prize+ is Hyundai Motor's open-call program supporting curators from Korea and abroad. The company has run the Hyundai Blue Prize since 2017, backing a total of 14 curatorial teams through initiatives including Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech in China and Hyundai Blue Prize Design in Korea. This year, the company consolidated those programs under the Hyundai Blue Prize+ banner, broadening the competition to span regions, disciplines and fields of study.

The program selects two curatorial teams every two years. Winners receive mentoring from a panel of judges, research trips and support for developing and mounting their exhibitions. For this year's inaugural competition under the integrated format, more than 160 teams from around the world submitted proposals, and two winning teams were selected: Wei Yifeng and Xu Xiaodan, and Park Hye-jin and Park Yun-young. The Park team's exhibition is scheduled to open in January 2027.

The current exhibition was co-curated by the first winning team, Wei Yifeng and Xu Xiaodan. Eight global artists and collectives are taking part: Jun Baltazar and Pierre Pauze, Zach Blas, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Haroon Mirza, Riar Rizaldi, Natascha Tontey, Suzanne Treister, and Chen Zhe. A collective, as the exhibition materials explain, is a group of artists, curators and researchers who collaborate on joint creative and research projects.

"Fornax" in the exhibition title refers to the southern constellation of the same name. The word comes from Latin, meaning a laboratory furnace or smelting oven. Unlike most constellation names, which derive from mythology, Fornax was named after a scientific term — making it a symbol of the shift from understanding the cosmos through myth to interpreting the world through scientific observation, a transition that lies at the heart of the exhibition's themes.

The exhibition also addresses experiences and ways of perceiving the world that science alone cannot fully explain — including histories and memories embedded in land and nature, and cultural practices such as shamanism and mysticism. The "spirituality" referenced in the exhibition materials is not tied to any specific religion; it is closer to a concept of exploring life and existence through myth, tradition and ritual.

"It is meaningful to be able to invite audiences into a transformative experience where different forms of knowledge converge," Wei and Xu said. "We hope to cross the boundaries between science and spirituality and explore new possibilities for the future that cannot be discovered from any single perspective."

Throughout the exhibition period, Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing will host accompanying programs including artist talks and participatory workshops, designed to let visitors engage with the exhibition's themes in a variety of ways.

Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing is Hyundai Motor's cultural space in the 798 Art Zone in Beijing. It has hosted exhibitions and customer experience programs related to art, design and mobility, connecting the brand with cultural content.

Global automakers have increasingly invested not only in electrification and software transitions but also in brand experience spaces as a way to deepen customer engagement. There is a growing effort across the industry to present the automobile not merely as a means of transportation but as a platform where technology, design and culture converge.

"It is significant to present the first exhibition of the evolved Hyundai Blue Prize+ at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing, where the Hyundai Blue Prize first began," a Hyundai Motor official said. "This exhibition, in which the two curators explore the intersection of science, technology and spirituality, will offer a new perspective and an opportunity for reflection on how technology shapes the world we live in."