The S+T+ARTS programme has announced the winning projects of the Buen-TEK Prize, a call that recognises innovative artistic initiatives rooted in traditional knowledge, indigenous wisdom and the principles of degrowth and Buen Vivir in South America.

After evaluating more than 120 applications from various countries in the region, the jury highlighted the high level of the proposals submitted and their ability to rethink technology, the economy and society from community, ecological and culturally situated practices.

Grand Prizes

The two S+T+ARTS Buen-TEK Grand Prizes have been awarded to:

• Inty Muenala and Yauti Muenala (Ecuador), for the project Rishpa Tigrashpa, Ir y Volver: Hilar el pasado, presente y futuro, el arte y la vida, a proposal that intertwines memory, territory and artistic practice as a form of transmission of living knowledge.
• Voluspa Jarpa (Chile), for the project Counter-Cartographies of Resistance: Innovation and Ancestral Memory, which proposes a critical rereading of the history and cartographies of power from the perspective of ancestral memory and resistance.

Each of the award-winning projects will receive €10,000 and will be exhibited at the IMPAKT Festival 2026 in Utrecht, as part of an international exhibition that will be part of the festival’s programme.

Distinction Awards

The jury has also awarded two Distinction Awards, endowed with 5,000 euros each, to:

• Leonel Vásquez (Colombia), for the project Cradle of wetlands, a poetic and political reflection on aquatic ecosystems and their relations with local communities.
• El Alto Aesthetics (Bolivia), for the project El Alto Aesthethics, which vindicates the aesthetics and cultural practices of the contemporary Andean context.

Honorable Mentions

In addition, the jury has awarded three Honorable Mentions to projects that have stood out for their quality and uniqueness:

• Gabriela Bìlá (Brazil), for Imaginary Atlas, Amazonia.
• João Machado (Brazil), for Interspecies Architectures with native bees.
• Juan Cortés (Colombia), for Geography of Equinoctial Plants: Counter-Taxonomy and Relational Ecologies.

In its statement, the jury stressed that the selected projects show the diversity and current relevance of the Buen-TEK concept. The works address themes such as memory, territory and resistance, and demonstrate that knowledge can be transmitted through bodily practices, speculative imaginaries, interspecific relationships and alternative systems of knowledge.

More information about the projects on the S+T+ARTS website.