Our Mission

AHL Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)[3] not-for-profit arts organization established in 2003 by Sook Nyu Lee Kim to support artists of Korean heritage working in the United States and promote exposure of their work in today’s highly competitive contemporary art world. Our mission is threefold: 1) to seek, identify and promote talented Korean and Korean-American artists active in the United States; 2) to provide the artists with a platform and resources to further develop their talents; and 3) to host educational, cultural, and artistic events with the goal of building wider public awareness of contemporary artists of Korean heritage. 

AHL Foundation seeks to accomplish its mission by promoting the work of emerging artists of Korean descent active in the United States through exhibitions, informing and educating artists on the business side of the art practice, and building a community of supporters and art enthusiasts. Our efforts focus on fostering an awareness of the artists and their work through hosting exhibitions, public art showings, artist studio visits, lectures, workshops, museum tours, and art history courses. All of AHL’s programs are open to the public.

With the generous backing of its supporters, AHL Foundation has been able to provide monetary support, through awards, grants, and fellowships, to artists and curators of Korean ancestry and researchers with interest in Korean contemporary art in the United States. This includes the annual Contemporary Visual Art Award, founded in 2004, and the AHL Foundation Artist Fellowship, supported by the Dow Kim Family Foundation, which award a total of seven monetary prizes and the opportunity for an exhibition in New York to exceptional artists of Korean ancestry in the United States. In 2019, the foundation awarded nearly $70,000 in grants and awards to up-and-coming artists, curators, and researchers, and also welcomed upwards of 10,000 visitors/participants to its exhibitions and programs, including professional development forums, gallery tours, and community outreach exhibitions.

AHL Foundation has continued to grow over the years thanks to the work and generous support of an array of individuals and groups who share our vision, mission, and values. We hope for others to join and assist in any capacity as we take on the task of putting Korean contemporary art on the map of the global art scene.

AHL Foundation was able to open its first gallery space in April 2022 thanks to the generous support of our donors: