The algorithm may decide what content we see on our feed, but the Instagram Rings awards hope to celebrates the unique creativity of 25 creators—among millions of users—who have carved out their own corner on the platform. Now in its second year, the program has assembled a panel of judges spanning fashion, film, and the arts, including designer Donatella Versace, musicians A$AP Rocky and Finneas, makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench, and the Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao.
In 2025, the panel awarded a wide range of talent from the photographer Gabriel Moses to Grammy-winning musician Olivia Dean to comedian Elyse Myers. This year’s prize, celebrated at an exclusive awards showcase in New York last night, comes with a golden ring lighting up each winner’s Instagram icon, as well as an actual ring designed by Bode creative director Emily Adams Bode Aujla.
Ahead of the second annual event on Thursday, Zhao sat down with CULTURED to discuss what separates a creator from the crowd, and how her own artistic practice informed her final nominations.
Your films have consistently revealed the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary. As a Instagram Rings judge, what were you looking for in the next generation of creative talent?
I was looking for creatives who can notice the extraordinary in the ordinary—because they are the same.
You’ve worked at radically different scales, from the intimacy of The Rider and Nomadland to the enormous machinery of Marvel. What has moving between those worlds taught you about protecting a creative vision?
Every story needs its own unique ecosystem, and the scale should serve the story first. No matter what size, there are about two to five people closest to you that define the health of that ecosystem. So choose those people wisely.
When you look at this year’s winners, what excites you most about the directions that they’re heading in?
They are not waiting for permission, and they are doing what they truly love. No one told them to do it, but they decided to create from a place of joy.
Has there been a moment in your career when someone recognized something in your work before you could see it yourself? How did that change your trajectory?
[Director] Chris Columbus heard my pitch for my first film and gave me a grant that made the film possible.
Social media rewards immediacy, while filmmaking can demand years of patience. How do you think about the relationship between making something that resonates right now, and making something that lasts much longer?
For me, the medium serves the story. I don’t think about if I want my story to resonate now or last longer. I only follow my gut feeling and synchronicities that tell me this is the story I’m supposed to tell right now, and then I will ask the story what scale and speed it wants to be in. It always shows me if I’m willing to listen.
When evaluating the finalists, were you more drawn to technical mastery in their respective areas, or to someone doing something you had never seen before?
I’m drawn most to authenticity and heart.
When you first encountered the work of this year’s nominees, what was your initial reaction?
I was moved and inspired to feel the confidence and agency that came through their posts. There is a strong energy to connect and to declare out loud that creativity is a birthright for everyone.
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