London, 9th November 2026 – Through mediums from photography and poetry to animation, videogame design and textiles, across themes spanning AI data centres to biodiversity and indigenous craft, the winners of this year’s Earth Partner Prize reflect a young generation growing up in crisis – but asking the world to stop normalizing it. 

Art Partner, through its sustainability division Earth Partner, in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Re:wild, today announces the winners of the 2026 Earth Partner Prize. The annual contest invites artists aged 14–30 to submit artwork in any medium that comments on any aspect of the ecological crisis. 

This year, a record number of entries from more than 120 countries cements the Prize as a global platform for youth-led ecological storytelling, with submissions from over 160 countries since its creation in 2019. Spanning creative mediums from cartoon animation, linocut and videogame design to performance, music composition, poetry, embroidery, film and photography, the works of the 2026 winners show that young artists’ main concern is not an apocalyptic future, but the present. Through their creativity, storytelling, and innovation the Earth Partner Prize winners make one thing clear: they are not willing to accept a world where environmental injustice is seen as normal.

The Prize awards a $10,000 Grand Prize, two $5,000 Runner-Up prizes, five $2,000 Third-Place awards and 20 Honourable Mentions. Through our partnership with the GEF, the 28 winning works will be showcased inside the Climate Funds Pavilion at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. We are pleased to announce the winners:

1st Place ($10k)

THE GAS WORKS by Samuel Bird, UK 🇬🇧

A 2.1 meter-long linocut print exploring the major impact war has on the climate, bringing awareness to the lack of transparency in military emissions. At 16 years old, Samuel uses his experience of dyslexia to influence his approach to working in reverse when designing and cutting lino prints.

“As a young person in a time of ecological crisis, I find it incredibly disappointing  and unjust that most major countries often spend up to 30 times more on military spending compared to environmental finance.”

2nd Places ($5k) 

VEINS OF A CHANGING LAND by Radoslav Sviretsov, Bulgaria-Iceland 🇧🇬🇮🇸

As Iceland’s glaciers continue to retreat, increasing amounts of meltwater are reshaping river systems. 

“My biggest fear is that we will slowly get used to this . This is where I believe art can help.” 

ETERNAL EPHEMERAL by Maewenn Bourcelot, France 🇫🇷

Through microscopy, colour and shift in scale, the artist moves close to the world of pollinators, creating a photographic poem about their disappearance. 

“My greatest fear is that we become accustomed to disappearance. The ecological crisis is not always spectacular; it happens gradually.”

3rd Places ($2k)

THE LAST PATTU by Aakash Gulzar, India 🇮🇳

The photography project traces the last living record of a disappearing indigenous ecological knowledge system: Pattu, the woolen textile of the Dard-Shin community in Kashmir. 

“My fear is that platforms and policies continue to speak about borderland communities instead of with them, and that by the time institutions catch up, the knowledge itself will be gone. Art’s role, as I see it, is to hold complexity that policy often flattens.”

A WILD HOPE OF UNBOUNDED SEEING by Ishita Sharma, UK 🇬🇧

Working with found natural matter, the artist cultivates the act of noticing through microscopy film and poetry.

“Whose land is it that we go to war over? Whose oil? Countries kill for what was never truly theirs to claim. And nature is not passive. It will resist. My contribution is a belief that art can help repair this.”

GUNOI SUB COVOR: SWEEPING UNDER THE RUG by Cristian Pǎsat and Oxana Capatina, Moldova 🇲🇩

A performance piece using discarded carpets in a landfill to draw attention to consumption and the preservation of memory.

“Here in Moldova, more and more young people are speaking about the issue of illegal dumpsites and posting videos documenting them. These reactions give us hope and show art can make the crisis visible and encourage involvement.”

SALT WOUND by Reza Javanshir, Iran 🇮🇷

In Lake Urmia, once one of Iran’s most significant aquatic ecosystems, water has receded and salt has taken its place like a wound across the land. The artist explores the abandoned structures and traces of past life.

“My hope is that one day I can return to Lake Urmia and, as I did in my childhood, ride a boat and swim in its waters again.”

THE EARTH LAUGHS IN FLOWERS by Kaanchi Chopra, India 🇮🇳

An installation and embroidered pieces exploring the relationship between 70 indigenous plants and the communities that live alongside them.

“I try to make environmentalism feel joyful, alive and inviting. There must be room for curiosity, pleasure, reciprocity and hope.”

20 honourable mentions were awarded to work from Brazil, Argentina, Cambodia, Nigeria, Iran, Uruguay, Ecuador, France, Philippines, Bangladesh, Martinique, Sweden, Ukraine, Kenya, USA, Ghana, Germany, Costa Rica, and Indonesia. Themes in honourable mentions cover AI data centres, indigenous relationship with wildlife, disappearing archipelagos, the proliferation of sargassum seaweed, community rebuilding after floods, a digital library of trees, a videogame raising awareness on energy consumption, and projects on fashion design and upcycling. Explore the work here.

Since 2025, the Earth Partner Prize has also been awarding a special Impact Award ($1.5K), recognising the submitted project that best demonstrates the community impact of artistic initiatives led by young people. This year’s Impact Award is granted to “Eco-Art Bhuta Kala: The Third Space of Water Governance”, an interactive sculptural installation and community mobilization project to raise awareness on the hydrological issues local communities face in Bali.

Exhibition & Media Access

• Virtual Exhibition: The 28 awarded works will be available to experience online via earthpartner.com (open on 9 November 2026).
• Digital Press Kit: High-resolution artwork files, full project descriptions and social assets are available on our Digital Media Toolkit.
• Media Contacts: Marianna Beltrami, mbeltrami@artpartner.com

The jury

Each year, the Earth Partner Prize brings together globally recognized voices from the cultural and environmental sectors. This year’s jury included:

• Derrick O. Boateng, acclaimed artist, founder of the “Hueism” movement
• Dr Robin Moore, acclaimed photographer and CCO at Re:wild
• Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands
• Giovanni Testino, founder of Art Partner
• Marina Testino, sustainability advocate
• Hans Ulrich Obrist, leading art curator and artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries
• Ferdinando Verderi, creative director
• Marcela Villafaña, Indigenous Arhuaco filmmaker
• Shaway Yeh, pioneer of sustainable fashion in China