A Spark of Light in the Darkness: S+T+ARTS Prize 2025

S+T+ARTS Prize 2025Sarah Ciston’sAI War Cloud DatabaseLAS Art FoundationArt and ScienceSensing QuantumFuture ImaginariesQuantum Technologies

27 Aug

Written By Assistant Art Insider PR

Each year, the S+T+ARTS Prize celebrates projects at the intersection of science, technology, and the arts—recognizing artists and collaborations that push boundaries and offer new ways of understanding the world we live in. The 2025 edition continues this tradition with two powerful Grand Prize winners selected from over 1,650 submissions representing 90 countries. The Prize competition is part of S+T+ARTS (Science, Technology and the Arts), an initiative funded by the European Commission since 2016. STARTS focuses on projects that strive to master the social, ecological and economic challenges that Europe is facing or will be facing in the near future.

*Light Art Space Foundation| WE FELT A STAR DYING, 2025, Laure Prouvost*

Unmasking the AI-Military Complex

The Grand Prize for Artistic Exploration was awarded to Sarah Ciston (US) for AI War Cloud Database, a bold, research-driven artwork that traces the murky overlap between commercial artificial intelligence and military systems. With a compelling online platform and visual maps, Ciston reveals how everyday AI tools are linked to decision-making systems in warfare—from targeting drones to surveillance technologies.

Their project is not only an act of radical transparency but a call to civic action. It urges us to ask what values shape our digital infrastructures—and whether we can imagine more democratic, ethical approaches to AI.

Quantum Culture and Public Imagination

The Grand Prize for Innovative Collaboration was awarded to LAS Art Foundation (DE) for its long-term initiative Sensing Quantum. This multifaceted programme spans artistic commissions, symposia, and public engagement activities exploring quantum technologies from a cultural lens. The project makes space for complex questions: What might it feel like to sense reality from a quantum perspective? How do these invisible infrastructures reshape our political and emotional landscapes?

AI War Cloud Database’s connections, showing a taxonomy of the types of systems, who makes them, and how they are used in both military and commercial contexts. Graph detail, Big tech, Ukraine. AI War Cloud Database @SarahCiston.

One standout work, We Felt a Star Dying by Laure Prouvost, draws viewers into a multi-sensory journey guided by quantum logic. The project overall is a clear example of how science and art, when interwoven with care, can democratize understanding of emerging fields like quantum computing.

Critical Voices and Expanding Networks

This year’s jury—Francesca Bria, Veronica D’Souza, Thomas Gegenhuber, Irini Papadimitriou, and Asako Tomura—emphasized the importance of community-driven innovation and social justice narratives in their selection. They described the winners as “a spark of light in the darkness,” offering critical, collaborative, and care-based visions for our collective future.

*Coral Sonic Resilience / Marco Barotti (IT). Photo: Marco Barotti, Honorary Mention*

In addition to the two Grand Prizes, the S+T+ARTS Prize 2025 awarded 10 Honorary Mentions and 18 Nominations, including projects like Lucid Life, ASTRES, AI in the Sky, Large Language Writer, and Open-weather, Year of Weather. These works represent a wide spectrum of innovation—from sound art to climate data activism to real-time AI audio tools.

*ASTRES: Mapping the Firmament, Playmodes Studio (ES). Photo credits: @playmodesstudio. Nomination.*

What’s Next

The S+T+ARTS Prize is more than an award—it is part of a larger European Commission initiative designed to foster alliances between science, technology, and the arts. This year’s winning projects will be featured at Ars Electronica Festival, taking place September 3–7, 2025, alongside S+T+ARTS Day, an event showcasing talks, exhibitions, and reflections on the Prize’s impact.