The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has announced the winners of its 2025 Science Without Borders Challenge, an international student art contest promoting ocean conservation.
This year’s theme, Marine Keystone Species, invited students to create artwork highlighting species that play a critical role in maintaining the structure and health of ocean ecosystems.
Open to primary and secondary school students 11-19 years old, more than 1,300 young artists from 75 countries submitted artwork, from sea otters and mangroves to corals and sharks.
While keystone species may not always be the most numerous or well-known, their presence helps maintain biodiversity, balance food webs, and support ecosystem resilience, complex ecological relationships that the students explore through their artwork.
The competition was judged in two categories based on age: 11-14 and 15-19.
The first-place winner of the 2025 Science Without Borders Challenge in the 15-19 age group was 18-year-old Hyungjun Chin from South Korea with his piece, ‘The Keeper’, which depicts a sea otter eating sea urchins in a kelp forest, highlighting the otter’s role in protecting the kelp from overgrazing.
‘Winning the Science Without Borders Challenge means a lot to me,’ said Hyungjun. ‘It feels incredibly rewarding to have my artwork recognised on an international level, especially when it’s about a topic I care deeply about—the environment.
‘I wanted my artwork to show how every species has a role and how protecting even one can save many.’
Second place in the 15–19 category went to Kimin Kim, also from South Korea, for her artwork, ‘Bridge Between Waters and Worlds’, which highlights the importance of mangrove trees as habitat for species both above and below the waterline, and their role in purifying the water for nearby seagrass meadows.
Daniel Yu from Hackensack, New Jersey, claimed third place with ‘The Sea’s Yggdrasil,’ a portrayal of mangroves as ‘ecosystem engineers’, stabilising coastlines, preventing erosion, and filtering pollutants from the water to support surrounding marine life.
In the 11–14 age group, Gia Kim, age 12, from Los Angeles, California, earned first place for ‘Melting Grounds’, a painting of krill – tiny but vital creatures that form the heart of the food web in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans.
‘I hope this piece raises awareness about our damaged ocean and what could happen if we continue to harm it,’ said Gia. ‘This is our planet, and we can make a change, starting with our warming ocean.’
Second place in the 11–14 age group went to Kate Wang from Canada for ‘Seagrass Savior’, which illustrates how the large appetites of tiger sharks help protect fragile seagrass ecosystems.
Third place was awarded to Annie Douglas from The Bahamas for ‘The Beauty of Coral Reef’, celebrating reef-building corals, which cover less than 1 per cent of the ocean floor, but support around 25% per cent of all marine species.
Each of the winners will receive scholarships of up to $500 from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation to celebrate their achievements and help them pursue their interests in art and ocean conservation.
Now in its 13th year, the Science Without Borders Challenge competition was created by the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation to help educate students around the world about the need to preserve our oceans, and inspire the next generation of ocean advocates.
‘The goal of this contest has always been to educate students about the ocean through art,’ said Amy Heemsoth, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Education at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. ‘This year’s theme helped them understand how essential certain species are to the health of marine ecosystems.
‘Their artwork serves as a powerful reminder of our responsibility to protect our oceans for future generations.’
For more information about the Science Without Borders Challenge and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, visit www.LOF.org.
The post 2025 Science Without Borders art competition winners appeared first on DIVE Magazine.
