IFAI - The Institute for Art and Innovation

09/07/2025

Join us for the Blue Futures Symposium II – Art for Systemic Change

📍Wednesday, July 16, 2025 | 16:00–19:00 CEST | Online
🔗 Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blue-futures-symposium-ii-tickets-1370821838019

How can art drive systemic transformation and support ocean regeneration?

Building on the momentum of the Social Art Award 2025, this global forum brings together artists, researchers, policymakers, and changemakers working at the intersection of ecology, justice, and imagination. With speakers from around the world, we’ll explore the power of social art to shift narratives, shape desirable futures, and catalyze action.

Organized by the The Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI) as part of the UN Ocean Decade, this event is part of our commitment to fostering ocean literacy, ocean protection, and cross-sector collaboration.

We welcome our moderators:
Nicole Loeser, Director, The Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI) (Germany)
Dr. R.M. Sánchez-Camus, Director, Applied Live Art Studio (UK)
Elpida D. and Bruna Carvalho, Co-Moderators, IFAI Berlin

And we can't wait to hear inspiring impulses from:
Tre' Packard, Founder & Executive Director, PangeaSeed Foundation (USA)
Akira Biondo, Director of Operations, PangeaSeed Foundation (USA)
Giuseppe La Spada, Interdisciplinary Artist (Italy)
serge attukwei clottey, Artist & Creator of “Afrogallonism” (Ghana)
Fe Cortez, Environmentalist & Founder, Menos 1 Lixo (Brazil)
Sena Basoz, Artist (Turkey)
Ximena Caminos, Cultural Entrepreneur & Founder, The Reefline (Argentina)
Christopher Coritsidis, CEO & Founder, Opus 1 Foundation (USA)
Dr Elissa Farrow, Futurist & Transformation Expert, specializing in oceanic futures (Australia)

💡 Let’s co-create ocean-positive, regenerative futures — together.

Register here:
https://lnkd.in/g8t8SYga

Read the press release here:
https://social-art-award.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SAA-2025-Blue-Futures-Symposium-II_Press-Release.pdf

Building on the momentum of the Social Art Award 2025, this global forum brings together artists, researchers, policymakers, and changemakers

09/07/2025

🌊 Join us for a global online gathering exploring how social art can foster ocean literacy, healing, and regenerative futures.

Date: Wednesday, July 9
Time: 16:00–18:00 CEST
Location: Online (link below)

With special presentations by:
• Anoosh Sophie Werner – Aquatopia (Gold Award)
• Amber Desprets – Future of Water (Bronze Award)
• Benjamin Bahanyani – Eko Makala (Honorary Mention)

Moderated by Nicole Loeser (Institute for Art and Innovation, Berlin) & Dr. R.M. Sánchez-Camus (ALAS London)

As a recognized contribution to the UN Ocean Decade and under the Social Art Award 2025 program, this symposium brings together artists and changemakers to explore how creativity fuels systemic change.

We’ll reflect on what social artists need now, imagine new networks of support, and co-create visions for regenerative blue futures.

Register here!

Join us today for a global online gathering exploring how social art can foster ocean literacy, healing, and regenerative futures.

07/07/2025

Meet the winners of the Social Art Award 2025!
 
Organized by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), this year’s award celebrates visionary artists using their creativity to drive positive change.
 
Under the theme “Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health”, the 2025 edition honors artistic practices that foster ecological awareness, inspire social transformation, and imagine new pathways for sustainable futures.
 
 
🥇 The first prize of the Social Art Award 2025 goes to Anoosh Sophie Werner and her interdisciplinary team  – Dr. Fabian Ritter, Felicitas Seyffert, Katrin Mendler, Daniel Falk – for her participatory performance Aquatopia.
 
 
“Aquatopia is a creative act of political, emotional, and ecological transformation,”
said jury member Jan Hurwitch (Visionary Ethics Foundation, Costa Rica), praising the project’s poetic storytelling and alignment with the Rights of Nature movement.
 
🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET) 
Registration Links on our Linktree
 
And stay tuned - Our Social Art Award 2025 book, featuring the TOP100, will be published soon!

07/07/2025

Meet the winners of the Social Art Award 2025!
 
Organized by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), this year’s award celebrates visionary artists using their creativity to drive positive change.
 
Under the theme “Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health”, the 2025 edition honors artistic practices that foster ecological awareness, inspire social transformation, and imagine new pathways for sustainable futures.
 
🥈The second prize of the Social Art Award 2025 goes to Michael Vincent Manalo for his multi-sensory installation World Amplifier, offering a listening space for the invisible voices of the ocean.
 
« A dreamlike and revolutionary act of soft activism,” reflected Dr. Jennifer Halton (WAAPA, Metamorphosis Project, Australia).
 
🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET) 
Registration Links on our Linktree
 
And stay tuned - Our Social Art Award 2025 book, featuring the TOP100, will be published soon!

07/07/2025

Meet the winners of the Social Art Award 2025!
 
Organized by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), this year’s award celebrates visionary artists using their creativity to drive positive change.
 
Under the theme “Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health”, the 2025 edition honors artistic practices that foster ecological awareness, inspire social transformation, and imagine new pathways for sustainable futures.
 
🥉The Third Prize of the Social Art Award 2025 goes to Amber Desprets for her card game Future of Water Awareness Game
“A compelling bridge between creativity and futures thinking,” said Dr. Derek Woodgate (The Futures Lab, Saudi Arabia). This foresight card game engages users in speculative storytelling around climate risk and water governance. The work was recognized for its strong narrative framework and participatory foresight tools.
 
🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET) 
Registration Links on our Linktree
 
And stay tuned - Our Social Art Award 2025 book, featuring the TOP100, will be published soon!

07/07/2025

Meet the winners of the Social Art Award 2025!
 
Organized by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), this year’s award celebrates visionary artists using their creativity to drive positive change.
 
Under the theme “Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health”, the 2025 edition honors artistic practices that foster ecological awareness, inspire social transformation, and imagine new pathways for sustainable futures.
 
Faced with such a high level of artistic quality and meaningful engagement, the jury gathered and made the decision to award Honorary Mentions to artists who stood out through the originality, impact, and depth of their work.
 
🏆 For his urgent visual storytelling and grassroots art engagement in Congo,
Benjamin Baharanyi receives an Honorary Mention for “Most Urgent Testimony” for his powerful piece Eco Makala.
 
🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET) 
Registration Links on our Linktree
 
And stay tuned - Our Social Art Award 2025 book, featuring the TOP100, will be published soon!

07/07/2025

Meet the winners of the Social Art Award 2025!
 
Organized by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), this year’s award celebrates visionary artists using their creativity to drive positive change.
 
Under the theme “Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health”, the 2025 edition honors artistic practices that foster ecological awareness, inspire social transformation, and imagine new pathways for sustainable futures.
 
Faced with such a high level of artistic quality and meaningful engagement, the jury gathered and made the decision to award Honorary Mentions to artists who stood out through the originality, impact, and depth of their work.
 
🏆 For her poetic, speculative installation exploring ecological grief and biomedical ethics, Julie Light receives an Honorary Mention for the «Most Speculative Reflection» with her installation The Marine Museum of Lost Potential
 
🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET) 
Registration Links on our Linktree
 
And stay tuned - Our Social Art Award 2025 book, featuring the TOP100, will be published soon!

07/07/2025

Meet the winners of the Social Art Award 2025!
 
Organized by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), this year’s award celebrates visionary artists using their creativity to drive positive change.
 
Under the theme “Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health”, the 2025 edition honors artistic practices that foster ecological awareness, inspire social transformation, and imagine new pathways for sustainable futures.
 
Faced with such a high level of artistic quality and meaningful engagement, the jury gathered and made the decision to award Honorary Mentions to artists who stood out through the originality, impact, and depth of their work.
 
🏆 For his AI-driven game envisioning eco-social futures through collaborative gameplay called Solarium 2063, Nejc Trampuz receives an Honorary Mention for «Most Visionary Gameplay».
 
🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET) 
Registration Links on our Linktree
 
And stay tuned - Our Social Art Award 2025 book, featuring the TOP100, will be published soon!

05/07/2025

Social Art Award 2025 – Planetary Healing: Blue Tribes for Ocean Health

Congratulations to the laureates of this powerful edition of the Social Art Award, organized by .berlin! This year, the call asked to reconnect with the ocean through art, activism, and innovation.

From over 900 submissions across 70 countries, the 14-headed international jury selected:
🌊 Gold: Aquatopia – A poetic participatory performance by Anoosh Sophie Werner & team, praised for its ecosystemic vision and connection to the Rights of Nature.
🌊 Silver: World Amplifier by Michael Vincent Manalo – An immersive sound installation giving voice to the ocean.
🌊 Bronze: Future of Water by Amber Desprets – A speculative card game blending climate storytelling and participatory governance.

Honorary Mentions
• Benjamin Bahanyani – Eko Makala: Urgent ecological storytelling with grassroots engagement in Congo.
• Julie Light – The Marine Museum of Lost Potential: Poetic speculation on ecological grief and biomedical ethics.
• Nejc Trampuz – Solandium 2063: An AI-driven game exploring eco-social breakdown and collaborative futures.

The ceremony, co-moderated by Nicole Loeser (IFAI Berlin) and Dr. R.M. Sánchez-Camus (Applied Live Art Studio London), gathered artists and global jury members from all continents — experts in art, ocean science, futures thinking, governance, and sustainability — to discuss the transformative power of social art.

The Top 100 projects will be published in the Social Art Award 2025 book (Sept. 2025) Watch the ceremony on IFAI’s YouTube (linked in bio)
Explore the online gallery at www.social-art-award.or (http://www.social-art-award.org/)g

🔹 What’s Next?
Join us at the Blue Futures Symposium I – July 9, 2025 and Blue Futures Symposium II – July 16, 2025 (4 - 7 pm CET)

We look forward to a global online gathering to explore social art for ocean literacy, resilience & regenerative futures.
⤷ See our Linktree to register!

📣 We’ll feature each awardee’s work individually in the coming days — stay tuned, stay inspired.

03/07/2025

🪼 Top 100 Social Art Award 🪼
What does healing the planet look like through the eyes of artists?

As part of the Social Art Award 2025, five creators from the Top 100 offer powerful responses through works that center on ocean health and the spirit of the « Blue Tribes. »

Their voices will be featured in this year’s Social Art Award Book, a collective journey toward ecological and social transformation through art.

Meet the artists:
– Jiasheng Mai / Friends Agree Best at a Distance /
– Julia Utoplennikova / Reverie / .utopiya
– Guowei Li / The ocean of origami / https://www.saugaartshub.com/user/guowei+li/
– Kat ROMA GREER & Alan OLEJNICZAK&  Rachel HONNERY / An Arctic Intermedia Installation /

03/07/2025

🪼 Top 100 Social Art Award 🪼

We’re thrilled to reveal five incredible artists from the Top 100 of the Social Art Award 2025, exploring this year’s theme: Planetary Healing – Blue Tribes for Ocean Health.

Their visionary works will be featured in the upcoming Social Art Award Book 2025, highlighting creative voices committed to environmental and social transformation.

Meet the artists:
– Slowpaintingstudio / CREATIVE (T)ISSUE PROJECT
–  Irina Lesova  / Islands /
– Tanja Major / Mykobütten Spores / https://fungi-paper.de/
– Jade Scardham / Future in Bloom
– Vardit Goldner / Cranes /

03/07/2025

🪼 Top 100 Social Art Award 🪼
As the Social Art Award 2025 unfolds, we’re proud to spotlight five remarkable artists from this year’s Top 100 selection.

Working around the theme Planetary Healing – Blue Tribes for Ocean Health, their creations invite us to rethink our relationship with the ocean and the planet.

These contributions, along with many others, will be part of the upcoming Social Art Award Book 2025 upcoming soon !

Meet the artists:
– Aleksandra Buyanova / The Human Touch /
– Azra Aksamija / Telltales of Tide and Terra
– Maryna Gradnova / The Covenant of Tides /
– Beth Krensky / Keys to Open the Beginning Before the End / https://bethkrensky.com/
– Elena Knox / Protective Seal / www.elenaknox.com