2026 Environmental Art Prize

What if a car only started when it was shared?

Austrian artist Jakob Glasner (b. 1987) has been awarded the 2026 Environmental Art Prize by Kunsthaus Graz. From 48 international submissions, the jury – Judith Schwentner, Deputy Mayor of Graz, together with Katrin Bucher Trantow and Katia Huemer, Kunsthaus Graz – selected his project OMNICAR for its playful yet “rebellious invitation to sustainable mobility”.

By allowing the car to start only when at least three people are on board, OMNICAR – Short Circuiting Petro Modernity transforms an ordinary passenger car into an infrastructure for shared mobility. To encourage a more resource-conscious use of cars, Glasner has technically modified the ignition system of his Škoda: an Arduino connects the seat sensors to a fuse. The car can only set off once enough seats are occupied. A feature originally designed for comfort thus becomes a prerequisite for cooperation.

In practice, the system works as follows: an LED panel on the roof of the OMNICAR displays the current destination, turning a private route into publicly accessible information. Inside the vehicle, an illuminated sign reading “UNTERLAST” (“UNDERLOADED”) indicates that too few people are on board. Until the car is sufficiently occupied, the ignition remains locked. Communication and travelling together thus become prerequisites for mobility.

Glasner grew up in the countryside as the son of what he calls “fossil nomads”: his parents spent many hours in the car every day. For him, individual mobility was therefore not a lifestyle choice but a necessity. Today, he lives in the city and uses a car-sharing scheme himself. OMNICAR emerges from the tension between dependence on the car and the search for new ways of using it.

OMNICAR is neither a mobility service nor a prohibition. It is an interactive intervention into the operating logic of the automobile – an attempt to break with the habits of individualised mobility shaped by petro-modernity and to relearn the practice of sharing wherever possible.

Opening and Public Programme

The official opening and award ceremony, supported by SERVUS ABFALL and Holding Graz, will take place on 04.11.2026 from 5 pm at Kunsthaus Graz as part of the City of Graz’s major environmental awards. The exhibition intervention will be on view for four weeks on the forecourt and in the foyer of Kunsthaus Graz.

The prize is generously provided by SERVUS ABFALL, a joint venture of Holding Graz and Saubermacher.

On 06.11.2026, Glasner will present his guerrilla tactics of thinking as part of the Markt der Zukunft (“Market of the Future”). In addition, the artist will be at the OMNICAR every Friday to engage visitors in a “negotiation of the ride” (Fahrverhandlung).

In cooperation with Stadt Graz and Markt der Zukunft.

SERVUS 1+1 Promotional Days: 7–8 November 2026

Mit freundlicher Unterstützung von SERVUS ABFALL, a joint venture of Holding Graz and Saubermacher.