The judges have spoken, and the votes are in! We’re proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Global Ocean Cleanup Art Competition.
Each June, Oceanic Society coordinates the Global Ocean Cleanup, a globally coordinated event that unites conservation organizations around the world to remove plastic and marine debris from the coastlines, mangroves, reefs, and waterways they work to protect. This year, 14 partner organizations across 14 countries participated, collectively removing debris from some of the ocean’s most critical habitats: sea turtle nesting beaches, mangrove forests, coral reefs, and coastal communities on the frontlines of the plastic pollution crisis.
The cleanup is the primary act. But what happens after is part of the mission too.
Annual Marine Debris Art Competition
Each participating organization is invited to transform the debris they collect into an original work of art for the Global Ocean Cleanup Art Competition. The goal isn’t just to make something beautiful. It’s to make the problem impossible to look away from. Ocean plastic is one of the most visible symptoms of a global crisis, and in the right hands, it becomes a medium: a way of communicating scale, urgency, and consequence to audiences who might never set foot on those beaches.
View this post on Instagram
This year’s entries spanned sculpture, mixed-media installations, and wearable art, all built from fishing nets, plastic bottles, glass, discarded slippers, rebar, snack wrappers, and ghost gear recovered from coastlines across Egypt, Cabo Verde, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Togo, Tanzania, Indonesia, Brazil, Bermuda, Guatemala, and the United States.
Each of the three winning organizations receives $500 in direct support for their conservation work to create more capacity in the field and in the habitats that need it most.
The Judging Panel
Entries were reviewed by an expert panel of artists, photographers, and ocean advocates whose own work sits at the intersection of creativity and conservation. The panel includes Cristina Mittermeier, marine biologist and co-founder of SeaLegacy; Paul Nicklen, National Geographic photographer and wildlife researcher; Courtney Mattison, whose large-scale ceramic sculptures document coral bleaching and ocean change; Pamela Longobardi, creator of the Drifters Project and one of the foremost artists working with ocean plastic; eco-artist Christy Rupp; and photographers Ben J. Hicks, Brad Torchia, and Wishulada Panthanuvong. Judges selected a Winner and a runner-up. A separate Audience Choice winner was determined by public vote, open June 20–25.
2026 Art Competition Winners
Judge’s Choice Winner: Fundação Tartaruga — Cabo Verde
Artist Eurico Andrade Estrela assembled fishing traps, plastic drums, and industrial debris recovered from the shores of Boa Vista Island, home to one of the world’s most significant loggerhead sea turtle nesting populations, into The Guardian of Marine Litter, an artistic figure that resembles a marine creature shaped by time and tide.
“By bringing these fragments together into a single form, the sculpture becomes a symbol of renewal and collective awareness, demonstrating that even materials considered worthless can be transformed into beauty, hope, and a call to action for cleaner oceans and healthier coastal ecosystems.” —Eurico Andrade Estrela
Judge’s Choice Runner-Up: Chelonia — Puerto Rico
Reef Suffocated by Trash, created by Julio Calderón, Adrián Calderón, and Rafael Rodriguez, was constructed entirely from fishing gear, foam, and plastic packaging recovered from Puerto Rico’s leatherback nesting coast. The mixed media creation is set against a deep blue ocean backdrop and framed with washed-up wood, depicting an underwater scene inhabited by sea turtles, coral structures, fish, jellyfish, a lobster, and other marine elements.
The juxtaposition of recognizable trash with representations of ocean wildlife emphasizes how deeply pollution has become embedded within marine environments. By converting waste into a vibrant seascape, the art piece encourages viewers to reflect on the lifecycle of disposable materials and their lasting presence in the ocean. It serves as a visual reminder that the choices we make on land ultimately shape the health and future of our oceans.
“The work serves as both a celebration of ocean life and a reminder of our responsibility to protect it. Every piece of debris incorporated into the artwork was once a potential threat to wildlife; here, it has been given a second life as a tool for education, reflection, and conservation.” —Artists, Reef Suffocated by Trash
Audience Choice Winner: Projeto Mar Sem Lixo — Brazil
Artist and artisanal fisherwoman Bruna Lopes pulled a ghost net from the Massambaba Environmental Protection Area on the morning of the cleanup and transformed it into a wearable garment before the day was over. The work, Entangled – The Ocean’s Cry, is presented by model and visual artist Bruna Mirella Letieri. Wrapped in the recovered fishing net and marine debris collected during the cleanup, she represents a sea that, despite its beauty and vital importance to life on Earth, is increasingly suffocated by human-generated pollution.
The nets that compose the dress symbolize the millions of marine animals that become trapped each year in abandoned fishing gear. The debris incorporated into the piece represents the waste found on beaches and in oceans around the world, while the long train symbolizes the trail of pollution that travels through seas, rivers, and coastal ecosystems, crossing borders and threatening marine life everywhere.
Congratulations to all winners and to every organization that participated in the 2026 Global Ocean Cleanup. Each entry was made from materials that, not long before, were threatening the ecosystems these teams work every day to protect. That’s the whole point.
The 2026 Global Ocean Cleanup is presented by Planet Oat, in partnership with SEE Turtles and Sea Turtle Week.
