‘Compost computational’, by the artist Marina Otero Verzier, receives an S+T+ARTS 2025 award from the European Commission

The new installation Compost Computacional, which was developed by the architect and researcher Marina Otero Verzier and produced by Tabakalera in collaboration with the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), has received a Special Mention in the 2025 edition of the S+T+ARTS Prize. These awards, which are supported by the European Commission, celebrate the most innovative proposals at the intersection of science, technology and art.

The work was conceived for the exhibition Máquinas de ingenio. Jakintzen bidegurutzean, which was curated by Maria Ptqk and displayed at Tabakalera between November 2023 and February 2024. It was supported by the Creative Impact Research Center Europe (CIRCE) programme, which is backed by Germany’s Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM). In the piece, Otero Verzier critically explores the environmental impact of digital storage and creates a symbolic dialogue between past and future technologies. This prize places Compost Computacional at the cutting-edge of global cultural and technological innovation. Beyond its artistic merits, the award also highlights the work’s transformative potential in the field of digital sustainability, science and critical imagination.

The installation includes a vermicomposting system powered by waste heat from astrophysics simulations carried out by the DIPC and a film that features a inca quipu (an ancient data encoding system). Compost Computacional encourages new ways of evaluating the sustainability of modern digital infrastructure, especially in the fast-moving era of artificial intelligence (AI).

The project harnesses traditional knowledge and ground-breaking technology to tackle a key issue of our times: the huge environmental cost of data storage. Besides its technical components, the installation also raises urgent questions on the cultural legacy of knowledge systems and the need to imagine more conscious and regenerative infrastructures.

The installation was developed in collaboration with the researchers Txomin Romero, Silvia Bonoli, Raúl Angulo, Jens Stücker and Fernando Álvarez González (UPV/EHU), and is part of a series of prototypes developed within Tabakalera’s ASTS (Arts, Science, Technology and Society) programme. As part of its recognition in this year’s S+T+ARTS Prize, Compost Computacional will be exhibited from 3 to 7 September 2025 at the Ars Electronica festival in Linz, Austria: one of the world’s leading events in the field of digital culture and technological innovation.

The distinction issued by the international jury consolidates Tabakalera’s position as a European benchmark for cultural innovation and reinforces its status as a meeting place for artistic creation and scientific and technological knowledge.

The exhibition Máquinas de ingenio. Jakintzen bidegurutzean was supported by the Creative Impact Research Centre Europe (CIRCE): a cross-disciplinary and international ‘think tank’ that explores how policy can support creative economies around Europe. CIRCE was financed by the German Federal Government’s Commissioner for Culture and Media, using funds from the European Commission's Brexit Adjustment Reserve (2022-23).