Anna Ridler & Sofia Crespo Win Top Honor in ABS Digital Art Prize

Anna Ridler and Sofia Crespo have been named joint winners of the Artist of the Year category for the 2025 Arab Bank Switzerland (ABS) Digital Art Prize. The award, now in its third year, recognizes trailblazing digital artists, with recipients receiving a solo show or exhibition at a cultural institution within the next year. Following the unveiling of the finalists at a ceremony held during NFC Lisbon, the results were announced Thursday (June 12) in Geneva, celebrating the collaboration between Ridler and Crespo. The duo’s nuanced body of work combines analog photography with advanced AI techniques, earning praise for deeply exploring the complex relationship between human perception, technology, and nature. Their winning artwork, “Snapshots: Orchids,” exemplifies this hybrid aesthetic, provoking thoughtful examination of our visual interactions with nature through technology’s ever-present lenses and screens. The work has been featured prominently at international venues, including Paris Photo 2023 and Frieze Gallery in London. And the Artist of the Year for the ABS Digital Art Prize is… 🥁 Anna Ridler (@annaridler) and Sofia Crespo (@soficrespo91)! — Arab Bank Switzerland (@arabbankCH) June 12, 2025 Their ground-breaking collaboration blends analogue photography with AI to reimagine our relationship with nature and technology. pic.twitter.com/O2UEl2MPQl The ABS Digital Art Prize launched in 2023 to amplify and support digital artists working within the rapidly evolving blockchain and digital asset ecosystems. Its jury panel comprises respected industry figures, including Alejandro Cartagena, Eleonora Brizi, Marlène Corbun, Mimi Nguyen, Rani Jabban, and Sebastien Montabonel. Previous winners include Marjan Moghaddam, recognized in 2023 for her animated painting “Glitch Intaleqi,” and Swiss generative artist RVig, who captivated audiences in 2024 with a series inspired by Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal.” “As a patron of the arts, closely involved in the digital asset space, we are proud to establish a global art prize that supports and promotes digital artists whilst raising awareness of this fast-evolving art sector,” says Rani Jabban, Managing Director of Arab Bank Switzerland. “The extraordinary quality of the beautiful and thought-provoking work shared with us by the competing artists and the rapidly growing interest in digital art from our younger clients all send a clear message: digital art is the future of art.” Additionally, Cezar Mocan secured the inaugural Emerging Artist of the Year award with his provocative digital narrative, “World Upstream.” The addition of the Emerging Artist category attracted over 120 entries from 38 countries. Exploring a future where artificial intelligence has liberated humanity from labor and presented through an infinitely self-editing game engine, Mocan’s work challenges viewers to question what constitutes value and identity when traditional notions of labor no longer exist. High above the city, @arabbankCH revealed its Digital Art Prize finalists in a stunning rooftop ceremony 🏆 pic.twitter.com/XNK9qWZAEo — Now Media (@nowmedia) June 9, 2025 “Congratulations to our Emerging Artist of the Year prize winner, Cezar Mocan,” says Montabonel, President of the Jury. “The international entrants and finalists in this category showcased the extraordinary new talent that is shaping the future of digital art, yet with work that creates an intersection of contemporary art, game design, and media theory to ask profound questions about our future relationship with technology, Cezar is a clear winner.” Additional finalists for this year’s Emerging Artist of the Year award included Andreas Rau, aurèce vettier, Bård Ionson, Ivona Tau, James Bloom, Kerim Safa & loackme, Leander Herzog, Marcel Schwittlick, and Travis LeRoy Southworth. Founded in 1962, Arab Bank Switzerland has long served as a bridge between the Middle East and Europe, offering financial services tailored to high-net-worth individuals while fostering deeper cultural and economic exchange.