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.
Elbtoots
Antje Marx
"Elbtoots" (Acrylic on Canvas, 30 cm x 22.5 cm) Are the Elbtoots creatures of my imagination, or a species that has emerged due to changes in the environment? It is said that the Elbtoots owe their name to beeing born in the Elbe River. When they communicate, their sound resembles the trumpeting call of cranes. They are said to live at the bottom of the river, where they are safe from marine traffic. Following the last mating season, the male Elbtoots are said to have swum to Cuxhaven and from there to the sea, searching for a cleaner and quieter habitat than the Elbe. Meanwhile, the females gave birth to their young. Since then, they have been waiting for a sign from their males, indicating that they can follow them to their new, beautiful home. Night after night, when the Elbe is less trafficked, they rise to the surface of the polluted waters and call out to their males.
"Elbtoots" (Acrylic on Canvas, 30 cm x 22.5 cm) Are the Elbtoots creatures of my imagination, or a species that has emerged due to changes in the environment? It is said that the Elbtoots owe their name to beeing born in the Elbe River. When they communicate, their sound resembles the trumpeting call of cranes. They are said to live at the bottom of the river, where they are safe from marine traffic. Following the last mating season, the male Elbtoots are said to have swum to Cuxhaven and from there to the sea, searching for a cleaner and quieter habitat than the Elbe. Meanwhile, the females gave birth to their young. Since then, they have been waiting for a sign from their males, indicating that they can follow them to their new, beautiful home. Night after night, when the Elbe is less trafficked, they rise to the surface of the polluted waters and call out to their males.