A student from the Dyson School of Engineering has won this year’s Grantham Climate Art Prize.
Plaifah Chaisen’s design for a mural drawing attention to the climate crisis and the need for more sustainable living (pictured above) will be transformed into a panoramic mural on Imperial College’s South Kensington campus.
The design was chosen by a panel of judges and was one of more than 550 submitted for this year’s art prize, which had the theme Design the Future: From Grey to Green – inspired by Imperial’s sustainability strategy.
Plaifah, who has just turned 19, entitled her design Viridescent Window. It will be adapted to fit the panoramic space on Dalby Court by professional mural artist Michelle Meola.
Even small steps - one idea, one effort at a time - can guide toward a sustainable tomorrow. From grey to green, the choice is ours." Plaifah Chaisen Grantham Art Prize winner
Plaifah, a first year student, says: “Viridescent Window envisions the potential of cities when innovation and sustainability are fully embraced. The window, shining light on the future, offers a glimpse of what we can become. From grey to green, the choice is ours.”
It will be the 13th mural in the Grantham Climate Art Prize series and the first at Imperial College – the others are located across the country from Brighton to Glasgow, alongside three more in London (in Tower Hamlets, West Norwood and Nine Elms).
The Art Prize is a biennial award from the Grantham Institute that invites young people to design murals highlighting the climate crisis and the need for action to create a more sustainable world.
This year, young people were invited to submit a vision for a more sustainable future shaped by nature-based solutions and green innovation with the urban environment in mind.
Four runner-up designs are also displayed on BigBelly recycling bins on campus. They are:
- Age 19 – 25 the Stewardship and Innovation Hub: Restore Nature with Nature by Cristiana Darie
- Age 15 – 18 Let’s go back to our roots by Kescheka Rajeekaran
- Age 11 – 14 (joint runner-up) Don’t let the grey take over by Liam du Plessis
- Age 11 – 14 (joint runner-up) Between Chains and Petals by Jade Panton
From left to right: Between Chains and Petals by Jade Panton; Don’t let the grey take over by Liam du Plessis; Stewardship and Innovation Hub: Restore Nature with Nature by Christiane Darie; Let’s go back to our roots by Kescheka Rajeekaran
As well as having their mural painted on Dalby Court, the winner also receives £200 in prize money and £100 worth of art materials. The runners-up are awarded £150 in gift vouchers and a print of their design. This is thanks to our sponsors Oden Services, Future Street and MRT Office Services. The winning design will also be shown on Oden Services' fleet of vehicles.
The mural and runners-up will be on show to the public at the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 7 and 8 June 2025, along with:
- an art workshop hosted by professional artists for children and young people to create some collective pieces of art highlighting simple and enjoyable actions we can all take to reduce our climate footprints;
- an exhibition of the 2021 art prize, which highlights biodiversity loss as a result of climate change, on Sherfield Walkway;
- an exhibition from our 2023 art prize on Imperial College Road highlighting the 9 things you can do about climate change.
A further 15 designs received a special commendation by judges.
The Grantham Institute hopes the mural will raise awareness of the climate crisis and inspire those who pass to take action to alleviate its worse effects, allowing us to live more sustainably. The institute invited young people to take part because it is their futures that will be most affected by climate change, and therefore their aspirations that should be magnified
"When you talk to young people about climate change, it is a challenge to make it hopeful and not too frightening… but there is a therapeutic element to creating art to express and share their hopes," says Mahamood Mubarak, a participant at a Grantham Art Prize workshop. "Through this project I’ve learnt the value of art and how it complements science. Topics I spent months studying can be captured in a visually striking way that speaks to all."
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Linsey Wynton
The Grantham Institute for Climate Change
