VISIONARY AWARD

We’re delighted to announce Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of Serpentine, as the inaugural recipient of The World Around Visionary Award, an annual honor celebrating individuals whose ideas have shaped architecture, design and contemporary culture.

Throughout his career, Obrist has championed emerging voices and exchange across art, architecture, design, science, ecology and public life. We are honored to recognize his extraordinary contribution to contemporary culture and his profound impact on the global architecture community.

The award will be designed by acclaimed Japanese architect and former The World Around speaker Junya Ishigami and will be presented at The World Around Annual Dinner by The World Around founder and executive director Beatrice Galilee.

Hans Ulrich Obrist says of the award "I am thrilled to be the recipient of The World Around's Visionary Award. I’ve always admired the work of Beatrice Galilee and The World Around organization – a brilliant platform that champions creators across the fields of architecture, art and design. With today’s increasingly complex challenges, supporting innovators early on in their trajectories, through initiatives such as the Young Climate Prize and its mentoring scheme, is more important than ever. The World Around shows us that in order to address the major challenges of the 21st century, we must go beyond the fear of pooling knowledge. New knowledge is produced when new, unexpected connections are forged." 

HONORING HANS ULRICH OBRIST

Hans Ulrich Obrist is Artistic Director of Serpentine in London, and Senior Advisor at LUMA Arles. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show World Soup (The Kitchen Show) in 1991, he has curated more than 400 shows.

 Obrist's publications include Ways of Curating (2015), The Age of Earthquakes (2015), Lives of the Artists, Lives of the Architects (2015), The Extreme Self: Age of You (2021), 140 Ideas for Planet Earth (2021), Édouard Glissant: Archipelago (2021), Remember to Dream (2023), Wish You Were Here (2025), and Life in Progress (2026).

“Hans Ulrich Obrist embodies everything we hope to celebrate with The World Around Visionary Award: boundless curiosity, a profound openness to new ideas and an extraordinary generosity towards the work of others.” - Beatrice Galilee, Founder and Executive Director of The World Around.  

VENUE: WANG CONTEMPORARY

The World Around Annual Dinner 2026 will take place at Wang Contemporary, one of New York’s newest and most exciting cultural spaces. Located in the landmark former Citizens Savings Bank in Chinatown.

The venue continues the Dinner’s tradition of gathering in extraordinary architectural settings, following previous editions at the Park Avenue Armory and The Refinery at Domino.

This historic new home will bring together leading figures from architecture, design, art and culture for an unforgettable evening celebrating the ideas and individuals shaping our world.