27 May 2024

Call for submissions of research, design, art, music, etc. projects to the 2nd Neptun State Prize for Water

Today Fashion.at came across the news of the Neptun State Prize for Water 2025, Austria's official environmental and innovation award for sustainable water projects with a holistic approach to the topic and a comprehensive concept of who can submit projects or participate. In short: everything is possible, from high-tech projects for water saving to education as well as ideas in the field of fashion design, and everyone from scientists to designers or musicians to interested citizens is invited.

The fact that water concerns us all seems to inspire the state prize! The prize was founded in 1999 as the Neptun Water Prize and became the biennial state prize in the 2020s, with the first winners in 2023. The 'Neptun Staatspreis für Wasser' is now calling for the second edition in 2025 for submissions from June 1. With a total prize fund of 24,000 euros, the award honors innovative efforts in water management in various categories, including Water EDUCATION, Water RESEARCH, Water CREATIVE, Water VIENNA and the newly introduced Water REGIONAL.

Fashion.at took a closer look at the prize's website on https://www.neptun-staatspreis.at/ with the presentation of the winners and finalists of the Neptun 2023, especially in the category 'Water Creative', where works like the 'Collective Action Viewer' by Verena Tscherner & Joerg Auzinger - both studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna - are presented with detailed description and video. The Collective Action Viewer is an artistic intervention in public space to raise awareness of the effects of global climate change. Austria's geography, landscapes, flora and fauna are central themes in the water projects of the award-winning projects 2023.

Fashion.at asked Bing's Copilot if there is any possibility for fashion designers to participate in the Neptun State Prize for Water; and since a chatbot is only as creative as the given information it finds, such as on the prize's - by the way - crystal-clearly designed website, the answer was "Yes, definitely". Copilot summarized the information it found from various sources, including the most recent press release on ots.at, where each category is described in more detail, and recommended 'Water Creative' as the category that is "...specifically intended for artistic works that deal with the theme of water. This category includes various forms of art, including visual and performing arts, performance, music, design, architecture related to water, and literature". Copilot didn't end with a simple summary; the chatbot took on the role of an inspiring assistant: "Fashion designers could submit their creations that deal with water in innovative ways, whether through the use of water-friendly materials, the representation of water themes in their designs, or through projects that promote awareness of water conservation and sustainability. It's an excellent opportunity to showcase creativity and commitment to environmental protection." At the end of Fashion.at's conversation with Copilot, the bot pointed out the timeline: "The submission deadline for projects runs until October 14, 2024, so there is still plenty of time to develop and submit a project. Good luck!"

Fashion.at tip: Currently, one of the projects presented at the MK&G Hamburg exhibition 'Water Pressure: Designing for the Future' is the textile industry related project of the British start-up 'Colorifix' (article).

Image: Fashion.at created the visual showing the surface of a friendly blue-green lake with the embossed-like lettering WATER on Ideogram.ai today.