The UMLAUF Prize Expanded is a juried solo exhibition awarded to an emerging artist in any media from the Greater Austin area, and was organized by the UMLAUF to address Austin’s ongoing need for emerging artist support.  In addition to providing a professional venue for regional emerging artists, the UMLAUF Prize Expanded is awarded to artists who investigate themes most pertinent in contemporary art. 

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Jurors Shea Little (artist and Founder/Director of Austin's beloved Big Medium), Deborah Roberts (native Austinite and one of the art world's most sought-after artists), and Sarah Story (UMLAUF Executive Director) selected Ling-lin Ku from an outstanding group of emerging artists for the inaugural UMLAUF Prize Expanded competition. Ling-lin uses digital fabrication techniques to play with scale, proximity, and textures of everyday items.  The objects in her installations evade categorization, thereby upending our relationship to the known.

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Ling-lin received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2016, and her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin this year. In addition to her art education, Ling-lin has a background in music and law. Her work has been exhibited nationally, and she has been the recipient of such residencies and awards as the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, Haystack Open Studio, Maine, and the Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts, awarded by the American Austrian Foundation.