The winners of NTAa’25

The Public Prize goes to Brussels-based artist and filmmaker Stéphanie Roland for her moving work ‘Missing People’. Using AI-generated portraits drawn from global databases of missing persons, Roland created ghost-like images that are only visible under direct light. These fragile impressions, engraved on optical lenses, explore themes of memory, disappearance, and unresolved grief. Inspired by the victims of military regimes, her work confronts viewers with haunting, semi-fictional faces that seem to hover between presence and absence. Roland’s broader practice spans documentary and fiction, and her work has been presented internationally at institutions including the Venice Biennale, Centre Pompidou, FID Marseille, and Visions du Réel.

The Jury Prize has been awarded to Berlin-based duo Verena Bachl and Karsten Schühl for their immersive light installation ‘What is for Sure’. This work mimics the subtle chromatic shifts of daylight, blending real footage of natural environments with AI-generated imagery. By gently altering viewers’ perception of time and space, the piece raises profound questions about trust, certainty, and the role of artificial intelligence in shaping our experience of reality. Bachl’s practice focuses on memory, identity, and materiality, while Schühl creates sensor-based sound and vibration installations. Together, their work bridges sensory immersion with conceptual depth, earning recognition from institutions such as MIT and the New European Bauhaus.