Hyundai Motor and MMCA Present PROJECT HASHTAG 2024, Exploring Contemporary Society with Game-Based Works

Hyundai Motor and MMCA Present PROJECT HASHTAG 2024, Exploring Contemporary Society with Game-Based Works

  • PROJECT HASHTAG 2024 on view at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea from November 15, 2024, through April 27, 2025
  • The two finalist teams, ‘Wish Office’ and ‘Playing Art Method,’ present projects with unique approaches to exploring contemporary society through game-based works
  • PROJECT HASHTAG, which fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among creators, marks its fifth year under the partnership between Hyundai Motor and MMCA

SEOUL, November 14, 2024 - Hyundai Motor Company and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) today announced the opening of the PROJECT HASHTAG 2024 exhibition at MMCA Seoul, running from November 15, 2024, to April 27, 2025.

This year’s edition of PROJECT HASHTAG received a total of 148 applications from creators in diverse fields, including artists, curators, researchers and other cultural practitioners. The exhibition presents projects from the two finalists, ‘Wish Office’ and ‘Playing Art Method,’ that have taken unique approaches to exploring contemporary society through game-based works.

"PROJECT HASHTAG 2024 engages visitors through the interactive medium of games,” said DooEun Choi, Art Director of Hyundai Motor Company. “We hope this exhibition serves as a platform for meaningful dialogue between creators and visitors in the distinctive participatory realm of interdisciplinary experimentation."

‘Wish Office’ presents Wish World, a metaverse environment where everyone’s wishes are fulfilled. Taking the form of a social experiment, this work, titled The Wishes, revolves around challenging realities of personal struggles in contemporary society through a game-like experience. Visitors have the option to submit their wishes which are processed through an AI classification system and delivered to the Wish World. The fate of this virtual world, whether it thrives or withers, depends on the submitted wishes. This work explores themes of frustration, desire, and hope and enables the visitors to reflect on the feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and a need for recognition experienced by individuals today.

‘Playing Art Method’ presents a work under the same name, Playing Art Method, to explore questions that arise when video games are exhibited at museums. This work is an invitation to reconsider how games and artists who create them can be understood in the contemporary art ecosystem by investigating aspects of the process from when artists install game-based works to when audiences experience them. There is a playable gaming element that will allow the player to explore two different perspectives with a single controller along with a set of materials that will help visitors to interpret the meanings within the games.

“Just as hashtags connect different subjects and people in our contemporary digital culture, PROJECT HASHTAG 2024 aims to bring together creators from diverse backgrounds to create new artistic synergies and expand the potential of contemporary art,” said Sunghee Kim, Director of the MMCA.

PROJECT HASHTAG 2024 will also include a range of programs and events to unfold with the exhibition, including artist talks, live game streaming sessions, docent-led programs with experts including poets, game researchers, and art critics, as well as game walkthrough workshops. A special program will also be held for the fifth anniversary of PROJECT HASHTAG early next year, inviting creators who participated in previous editions of PROJECT HASHTAG to discuss how their projects have evolved and the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration.

PROJECT HASHTAG was initiated in 2019 as part of Hyundai Motor’s long-term partnership with MMCA. The project aims to foster interdisciplinary collaborations among next-generation creators from diverse genres. By providing a platform for cross-boundary discussions and the opportunity to organize an exhibition at MMCA Seoul, Hyundai Motor and MMCA support new forms of creativity and expression.


**All images must be accompanied by a credit line below and used only to illustrate an article or feature reviewing or reporting on PROJECT HASHTAG 2024. Any form of treatment and use of images for front covers may attract a fee and will require the prior authorization of the owner and copyright holder of the work. Please contact MMCA Press Office for such use: mmcapress@mmca.go.kr


Image Credit:

- Image 1: PROJECT HASHTAG 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Wish Office, The Wishes, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Installation view of Wish Office, The Wishes, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Installation view of Playing Art Method, Playing Art Method, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Installation view of Playing Art Method, Playing Art Method, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Wish Office, The Wishes, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Wish Office, The Wishes, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Wish Office, The Wishes, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Wish Office, The Wishes, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Playing Art Method, Playing Art Method, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Playing Art Method, Playing Art Method, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Playing Art Method, Playing Art Method, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Installation view of Playing Art Method, Playing Art Method, 2024. Photo: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea