Congratulations to the Social Art Award 2025 Winners!
Celebrating Artistic Visions for Planetary Healing and Ocean Health
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Social Art Award 2025, hosted by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI). Under this year’s powerful theme, Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health, the award recognized outstanding artists who use their practice to foster ecological awareness, social transformation, and systems change.
Launched in 2017, the Social Art Award has become a global platform for artists working at the intersection of art, activism, and innovation. This year’s edition resonated with the UN Ocean Decade and called on creatives to deepen our relationship with the ocean — a vital, yet often voiceless, part of our planetary system.
From more than 900 submissions across 70+ countries, the international jury selected three exceptional awardees, three honorary mentions, and two wildcard finalists via public vote. The virtual ceremony took place on July 2, 2025 – gathering artists, cultural practitioners, and allies from across the globe.
🥇 Gold Award – Aquatopia
A participatory performance by Anoosh Sophie Werner and her interdisciplinary team (Dr. Fabian Ritter, Felicitas Seyffert, Katrin Mendler, Daniel Falk), Aquatopia immerses audiences in poetic storytelling and ecological reverence. It was praised for its ecosystemic thinking and alignment with the Rights of Nature movement.
“A creative act of political, emotional, and ecological transformation,” said jury member Jan Hurwitch of the Visionary Ethics Foundation (Costa Rica).
🥈 Silver Award – World Amplifier by Michael Vincent Manalo
This multi-sensory installation offers a listening space for the invisible voices of the ocean. The jury highlighted its poetic depth and emotional resonance.
“A dreamlike and revolutionary act of soft activism,” reflected Dr. Jennifer Halton (WAAPA, Metamorphosis Project, Australia).
🥉 Bronze Award – Future of Water by Amber Desprets
A foresight card game engaging users in speculative storytelling around climate risk and water governance. The work was recognized for its strong narrative framework and participatory foresight tools.
“A compelling bridge between creativity and futures thinking,” said Dr. Derek Woodgate (The Futures Lab, Saudi Arabia).
Honorary Mentions
- Benjamin Bahayani – Eko Makala
For his urgent visual storytelling paired with grassroots art engagement in Congo. - Julie Light – The Marine Museum of Lost Potential
For her poetic, speculative installation exploring ecological grief and biomedical ethics. - Nejc Trampuz – Solandium 2063
For his AI-driven game envisioning eco-social futures through collaborative gameplay.
The ceremony, co-moderated by Nicole Loeser (IFAI) and Dr. R.M. Sánchez-Camus (Applied Live Art Studio), included rich dialogue between artists and jury members, exploring the role of social art in fostering healing, justice, and systems change.
“Social art doesn’t end with an award — it is an ongoing practice that invites us to care, co-create, and act in alignment across scales of being, from the personal to the planetary.”
— Nicole Loeser, Director of IFAI Berlin, Co-Moderator and Jury Member
“Social art thrives when creativity meets care. It’s not about individual recognition, but about shared transformation. Let this award mark a beginning — a call to action, imagination, and deep listening.”
— Dr. R.M. Sánchez-Camus, Director of ALAS London, Co-Moderator and Jury Member
What’s Next?
The Social Art Award Book (Top 100 Projects) will be published in September 2025. A recording of the ceremony will be uploaded to IFAI’s Youtube channel shortly. You can already explore the online gallery at: www.social-art-award.org
We also warmly invite you to join the Blue Futures Symposium on July 16, 2025 — a global online forum exploring ocean-connected futures across art, science, and policy.
Stay tuned, stay inspired — and thank you for being part of a growing global movement for social and planetary transformation through art.