Charting New Waters and Cyberspaces: 2025 Leonardo-ASU Grants for Transformative Futures
Announcing the 2025 Leonardo-ASU Planetary Health Research Seed Grant Recipients
The Leonardo-ASU Planetary Health Research Seed Grants support innovative, transdisciplinary projects that advance creative solutions to global challenges, fostering collaboration between the arts, sciences, and technology. We are thrilled to announce the two selected projects for 2025: "CYBOTAGE" and "Reservoirs for Water Futures."
CYBOTAGE
- Principal Investigator: Zeina Barakeh
- Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Daniel Rothenberg & Dr. Anika Binnendijk
CYBOTAGE is an ambitious project that bridges the fields of art, biology, global security, and social science. This project features animated digital colossi, monumental human figures inspired by the colossal statues of Ancient Egypt’s Abu Simbel temple, created through advanced medical imaging and mapping technologies. These "guardians" of cyberspace serve as a public art installation on landmark buildings and indoors, offering a thought-provoking exploration of human enhancement technologies, cybernetics, and the ethical implications they hold for society and the environment.
At the core of CYBOTAGE are critical questions about our dependence on technology, human body augmentation, and the ethical challenges that arise from the increasing integration of artificial intelligence, robotics, and surveillance systems into our lives. The project will engage communities through interactive exhibitions, workshops, and panel discussions, ensuring that groups that face systemic inequalities and exclusion are heard and contributing to a global conversation about the future of technology, identity, and societal responsibilty.
Reservoirs for Water Futures
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Chelsea Haines
- Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Upmanu Lall
"Reservoirs for Water Futures" examines pasts and futures of water infrastructure in the Sonoran Desert. It asks how this history has shaped how we see and consume water and proposes new imaginaries for equitable water futures that visualizes how new technologies can address inequalities in access and transform non-renewable paradigms into ones based on sustainability and equitable distribution. This project combines art, history, and science to push the boundaries of visual storytelling through filmmaking and performance and creatively engage the public in discussions around water scarcity and distribution.
The project incorporates an artist-in-residence program at ASU’s Water Institute with artist Tali Keren, culminating in a three-day public event in Fall 2025. This initiative will feature creative workshops, screenings, and performances exploring water infrastructure, desalination technologies, and their ecological impacts. The project will ultimately produce a new video installation and traveling exhibition in 2026, fostering a global dialogue on the critical intersections of water, art, and technology.
A Commitment to Planetary Health Futures
A collaborative venture supported by the ASU Global Futures Lab (GFL) and the Herberger Institute for Design & the Arts (HIDA), the Leonardo-ASU Planetary Health Research Seed Grant initiative is committed to fostering early-stage interdisciplinary research and creative projects that address global challenges in planetary health. By supporting these innovative endeavors, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of the intersections between human well-being, environmental sustainability, and technological advancement.
Stay tuned for updates on "CYBOTAGE" and "Reservoirs for Water Futures" as these projects develop in the coming months. We look forward to sharing their progress and celebrating the extraordinary work of these teams in advancing planetary health futures.