2025 Global Arts Prize Laureates | Global Leaders Institute

2025 Laureates

BlueSky Award Shortlist

Initiatives
that improve
lives

MA Fashion C Saint Martins
Argentina & Germany

The Plenary Co
United States

Tagata Moana
New Zealand

The Old Knitting Factory
Ireland

Mina de HQ
Brazil

Initiatives that

give voice

Open Eye Gallery
United Kingdom

Sankofa Danzafro
Colombia

MLì by Svensson
Sweden

Nubuke Art Gallery
Ghana

Good Energy
United States

Initiatives
that expand
horizons

Société des arts technologiques
Canada

Priya’s Shakti
India

Odyssey Works
United States

MMMAD Festival
Spain

La Tina
Costa Rica

Initiatives
that enhance
locations

Banana Craze
Colombia

Hush Foundation
Australia

Museum Week
France

Quinta das Relvas
Portugal

Cine de Barrio
Mexico

Initiatives
that shape
relevance

Aerocene Foundation
Argentina & Germany

Art in Manufacturing
United Kingdom

Milele Museum
Rwanda

Welcome Blanket
United States

Bahnhof Leisnig
Germany

BlueSky
Winner

Aerocene
Foundation

Argentina & Germany

Website & Instagram

Aerocene is awarded The 2025 BlueSky Global Arts Prize — selected by public input and a jury of leaders from the creative sector, this visionary initiative fuses plastic arts, earth science, and aeronautics with grassroots advocacy.

Catalyzed by artist Tomás Saraceno and cross-cutting creatives from cartography to film, Aerocene produces visually striking, solar-powered flight that spotlights the toll of lithium mining on the Global South.

Aerocene’s work propels sustainable aviation, setting World Aviation Records powered by atmospheric research at MIT and high-profile collaborations with cultural icons like BTS.

By inspiring change at the intersection of art & science through its initiatives across 43 nations on 6 continents, Aerocene embodies The Global Leaders Institute’s belief that innovation lies at the crossroads of disciplines.

Legacy Award Shortlist

Musicarium Academia
Brazil

Caracalla
Dance Theatre
Lebanon

Belongó
Afro Latin Jazz
United States

African
Women’s Orchestra
Kenya

Styled by Nif
Brazil

Wake Forest
NeuroArts Lab
United States

Timbalé Collective
Colombia

The Angel Band
Music Project
United States

Europe Beyond Access
Sweden

Mass Cultural Council
United States

432 Nomads
United Kingdom

African
Women’s Orchestra
United States

Tremor Festival
Portugal

Liana Creativa
Colombia

Principe Dynamics
United States

Sydney Music
Conservatorium
Australia

Legacy
Winner

The Angel Band Project is awarded the 2025 Global Arts Prize Legacy Award, a $30,000 cash prize supporting an initiative connected to a Global Leaders Institute graduate, with generous support from The Buck Family Foundation.

Co-founded and led by Rachel Ebeling (Global Arts MBA 2023), The Angel Band Project uses trauma-informed music therapy, songwriting, and performance to support survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence. In partnership with crisis counseling agencies, shelters, and safe houses, the organization positions the arts as a tool for care, advocacy, and public engagement. Through this work, The Angel Band Project embodies The Global Arts Prize mission to recognize novel approaches that expand the role and relevance of culture today.

The Angel
Band Project

United States

About
The Prize

Awarded by Global Leaders Institute

The Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation equips creative industry professionals with the entrepreneurship, management, and strategic tools to lead relevant, impactful, sustainable cultural initiatives.

Alongside its Executive MBA in Arts Innovation curated by top universities, GLI offers a range of immersive executive arts development programs integrating frontline perspectives with real-world impact. Focused on supporting cultural sector professionals at pivotal moments in their careers, GLI connects a global network of changemakers advancing the role of the arts in society.

GLI is an independently audited 501(c)(3) institute of higher education headquartered in Washington, DC.