Welcome to the Social Art Award 2025 – Online Gallery!
We are grateful for the many powerful contributions from artists across the globe. The selected works reflect the diversity of contemporary social art practices and address urgent issues such as climate and water crises, social and economic inequality, migration, conflict, discrimination, and the protection of human and more-than-human life.
Below you will find the submissions from the edition of 2024/2025 that passed the initial jury round. The Online Gallery offers public visibility to these works and supports dialogue around their themes; it does not replace the final jury decision.
Thank you to all artists for sharing your inspiring and committed work. We invite you to explore the gallery and engage with the perspectives shaping the Social Art Award 2025.
Return to the Ocean
Yuan Yuan
Growing up on a peninsula city embraced by the sea, I've always felt an intrinsic bond with the ocean. Traveling and residing globally, I've encountered a recurring sensation—a profound déjà vu triggered by symbols and spaces reminiscent of my coastal hometown. In "Return to the Ocean," I place symbolic objects and geometric forms inspired by my city upon sandy shores, creating visual metaphors for the interconnectedness between humans and the marine environment. This series comprises illuminated light boxes and inflatable sculptures; one inflatable specifically incorporates colors from 30 days of collected sunsets, reflecting the slow-paced lifestyle and serene beauty of my seaside hometown. The largest inflatable embodies the city's unique geography, surrounded by sea on three sides and mountains on the fourth, drawing considerable attention from local residents. The work addresses the urgent call for planetary healing by illustrating how coastal communities—the "Blue Tribes"—can nurture harmony between humanity and ocean ecosystems. Through playful yet contemplative imagery, the series explores themes of environmental mindfulness, marine biodiversity, and the collective memory of oceanic landscapes, encouraging a restorative dialogue about ocean health and human responsibility. （https://yuan-uan.art/return-to-the-ocean）
Growing up on a peninsula city embraced by the sea, I've always felt an intrinsic bond with the ocean. Traveling and residing globally, I've encountered a recurring sensation—a profound déjà vu triggered by symbols and spaces reminiscent of my coastal hometown. In "Return to the Ocean," I place symbolic objects and geometric forms inspired by my city upon sandy shores, creating visual metaphors for the interconnectedness between humans and the marine environment. This series comprises illuminated light boxes and inflatable sculptures; one inflatable specifically incorporates colors from 30 days of collected sunsets, reflecting the slow-paced lifestyle and serene beauty of my seaside hometown. The largest inflatable embodies the city's unique geography, surrounded by sea on three sides and mountains on the fourth, drawing considerable attention from local residents. The work addresses the urgent call for planetary healing by illustrating how coastal communities—the "Blue Tribes"—can nurture harmony between humanity and ocean ecosystems. Through playful yet contemplative imagery, the series explores themes of environmental mindfulness, marine biodiversity, and the collective memory of oceanic landscapes, encouraging a restorative dialogue about ocean health and human responsibility. （https://yuan-uan.art/return-to-the-ocean）