The Lumen Prize—the world’s preeminent award for art created with technology—has announced the winners of its 13th annual competition at a ceremony held at Kachette, London. Since 2012, The Lumen Prize has awarded over 140 artists leading the way in technology-based arts, including Refik Anadol, Sougwen Chung, Mario Klingemann, Malitzin Cortés (CNDSD), Iván Abreu, Operator, and Casey Reas. This year’s winners represent the pinnacle of technology-driven creativity, selected from a pool of 65 finalists and nearly 2,000 entries from 62 countries.

“The 2024 Lumen Prize winners exemplify the innovative spirit and technical mastery that define the intersection of art and technology,” said Gillian Varney, Director of The Lumen Prize. “Their work pushes the boundaries of what’s possible, offering new perspectives on our rapidly evolving digital world.”

The largest International Selectors Committee (ISC) in Lumen Prize history—featuring over 65 members from world-renowned institutions, including Sotheby’s, Royal College of Art, Google, Tezos, and Gucci—selected this year’s finalists. The winners were then chosen by a distinguished Jury Panel, a body of 5 individuals from prestigious institutions, including the Whitney Museum, V&A Museum, M+ Hong Kong, and HeK.

This year’s winning works explore themes including human-machine relationships, AI, immersive experiences blending physical and digital realms, and the societal impact of emerging technologies. The 2024 Lumen Prize winners are:

Gold Award: For exceptional work across all categories.

Theresa Reiwer: Decoding Bias

Theresa Reiwer, a German-born artist exploring AI ethics, created Decoding Bias, an immersive 360° film installation featuring eight AI avatars in a group therapy session. The film addresses discriminatory algorithms and toxic programming.

Still Image Award: For innovative 2D digital art and imagery.

Diego Trujillo Pisanty: Blind Camera
Mexican artist Diego Trujillo Pisanty developed Blind Camera, an AI-powered device that generates images from sound, challenging traditional photography and exploring local AI perspectives in Mexico City.

Moving Image Award: For groundbreaking time-based digital work.

Chia Amisola: We Are Only Moving Towards Each Other

Chia Amisola, a Filipino-American artist, produced We Are Only Moving Towards Each Other, a hypertext experience created in a weekend, exploring online intimacy through dynamically arranged windows that create unique narratives based on user interaction.

Interactive Immersive: For engaging 3D digital experiences.

Marc Da Costa and Matthew Niederhauser: Parallels

Interdisciplinary artists Marc Da Costa and Matthew Niederhauser designed Parallels. This site-specific, responsive machine learning installation transforms an LED wall into a portal for visitors to encounter the world through AI vision.

Futures Award: For pioneering work exploring society-technology relationships.

Parsons & Charlesworth: Catalog for the Post-Human

Design studio Parsons & Charlesworth constructed Catalog for the Post-Human, a satirical multimedia installation featuring fictional prototypes of human enhancement products, commenting on workplace technologies and AI’s impact on human labor.

Impact Award: For transformative art addressing socioeconomic and humanitarian issues.

Lukas Truniger: Undergrown | drafting a hedge against existential risk exposure

Swiss artist Lukas Truniger conceived Undergrown, a project repurposing obsolete crypto-mining hardware for volunteer science projects, creating symphonies of cooling fan noises and exploring parallels between human and plant communication networks.

Nordic Award: For outstanding art from Nordic countries.

Maren Dagny Juell: Human Resource The Musical

Norwegian artist Maren Dagny Juell composed Human Resource The Musical, featuring an AI-generated avatar giving a musical TED-style talk about human resources management, critiquing corporate language and the commodification of human potential.

British Computing Society (BCS) Award: For positive impact on technology experiences.

Keiken: Spirit Systems of Soft Knowing ༊*·˚

Collaborative practice Keiken devised Spirit Systems of Soft Knowing ༊*·˚, an ecosystem centered around a haptic wearable womb, providing embodied experiences of natural sounds and vibrations to encourage reconnection with the body and the more-than-human world.

Carla Rapoport Award: For exploring underrepresented perspectives.

UchanSun: AI Nüshu

Artist UchanSun developed AI Nüshu, a project training AI to imitate the creation of Nüshu, a script historically used by women in Hunan, China, exploring language emergence in non-Western, feminist contexts and challenging human linguistic authority.

In recognition of their achievements, PHAIDON has gifted The Lumen Prize winners with copies of Internet_Art: From the Birth of the Web to the Rise of NFTs by Dr. Omar Kholeif, the upcoming Midnight Moment: A Decade of Artists in Times Square, and CryptoPunks: Free to Claim, a comprehensive monograph on the groundbreaking NFT project once it’s released in December.

The evening also marked the launch of The Lumen Prize at 13 benefit auction, in partnership with Sotheby’s, running online until October 16. This inaugural sale celebrates Lumen’s thirteenth anniversary and showcases the journey of technology-based artists who have engaged with the prize over the past decade. Featured artists include past finalists and winners such as Aaron Penne, Sougwen Chung, Sasha Stiles, and Botto. All proceeds will directly fund next year’s prize, reinforcing Lumen’s commitment to fostering an ecosystem where established artists contribute to the success of future innovators.

Key highlights of the 2024 Lumen Prize include:

A highly selective winners round, with only .05% of submissions selected for awards
The introduction of the Carla Rapoport Award, honoring The Lumen Prize founder’s legacy
A benefit auction in partnership with Sotheby’s featuring works from past Lumen Prize winners and finalists

Since 2012, the Lumen Prize has awarded over $110,000 in prize money, celebrating more than 600 finalists and winners. The competition continues to be a leading global platform for digital art.