For works that sit at the intersection of reflection and anticipation — engaging past, present, and future in ways that examine our relationship to technology, culture, and time. This category is defined not by medium, but by how a work engages with time, memory, and future possibility.

Context:
Over the years the Prize has spotlighted work that is both critically reflective of digital histories and forward-facing (e.g., works exploring memory, storytelling, technology critique, historical reframing).

This category may include works which:

• Reimagine or reinterpret digital, cultural, or technological histories

• Explore memory, ancestry, or archives through contemporary tools

• Speculate on futures grounded in historical or present realities

• Critically examine how technology shapes society over time

• Engage with storytelling, language, or narrative systems

Inspired by 2025 Lumen Prize Finalist and Winner artworks such as:

• WORDS BEYOND WORDS, Sasha Stiles (2025 Literature & Poetry Award Winner)

• 2124, Konstantine Vlasis (2025 Nature & Climate Award Finalist)

• The Golden Archive, Amy Karle (2025 Identity & Culture Award Finalist)

• A Life Passed By (My Grandmother’s Memories), Ivona Tau (2025 Moving Image Award Finalist)

• SUTURA., YZA Voku (2025 Moving Image Award Finalist)

• In The Past Hides The Future, Esteban Amaro (2025 Still Image Award Finalist)

For works that examine, construct, or critically engage with systems, including cultural, ecological, technological, and social systems. These may be expressed through code, data, networks, biological or environmental processes, institutional frameworks, or social structures, and may address issues such as misinformation, machine vision, or human–machine relations. 

Context:
Throughout its history, the Prize has recognized works that explore networks, infrastructures, data, environments, and social systems, from algorithmic processes and ecological frameworks to institutional and cultural structures.

This category may include works which:

• Use data, code, or algorithms as structural elements

• Engage with networks, platforms, infrastructural practices, or distributed systems

• Examine or reconfigure social, ecological, or institutional systems

• Reveal, critique, or rework how systems operate

Inspired by past Lumen Prize Finalist and Winner artworks such as:

• Cumulus, MORKANA (2025 Gold Award Winner, Identity & Culture Finalist)

• Self-Contained, Entangled Others (2025 Nature & Climate Award Winner)

• Deutsch / Nicht Deutsch, mots (2025 Experiential Award Winner)

• Entangled, Bjørn Staal (2025 Hybrid Award Finalist)

• Facetune Portrait, Gretchen Andew (2025 Still Image Award Finalist)

• The Sylphs, Ana María Caballero (2025 Still Image Award Winner)

For works that prioritize experience, whether subtle or immersive, engaging audiences through participation, presence, sensation, or environment, including live coding, performance, interactive installations, experiential VR/AR, and cross-modal practices across physical, digital, or hybrid forms. This category focuses on how a work is encountered or activated, rather than the specific technologies or formats used. Any artist whose work evokes presence, engagement, or interaction is eligible.

Context:
Over the past 15 years, the Lumen Prize has consistently highlighted works that place audiences at the centre of the artistic experience, from early interactive and performative digital practices to immersive, participatory, and multi-sensory works that unfold across physical and virtual spaces.

This category may include works which:

• Engage with embodied or performative practices

• Include interactive, participatory, immersive, or spatial installations, including VR, AR, or XR

• Rely on audience presence, response, or co-creation

• Unfold through live processes, environments, or real-time interaction

Inspired by past Lumen Prize Finalist and Winner artworks such as:

• The Soundshirt, CuteCircuit (2025 Fashion & Design Award Winner)

• Memories of the Melted, Thijs Biersteker (2025 Performance & Music Award Finalist)

• OTHERWORLDS, Sophia Bulgakova (2025 Experiential Award Finalist)

• Onirica (), fuse*  (2025 Performance & Music Award Finalist)

• Lucida (I-VI), Lachlan Turczan (2025 Hybrid Award Finalist)

• Subtle States, Vadim Mirgorodskii (2025 Performance & Music Award Finalist)