.svg)
The place in Lisbon where digital art is for everybody: D-ART ENCOUNTERS. Every six weeks, the event at the Poolside Hub offers a panel talk gathering professionals from different backgrounds to introduce people to the digital world. We don’t want to discuss the technicality of it but instead, understand how digital art can be part of our lives.
The kick-off edition in January 2024 joined more than 40 people around the subject “A Global Impact: Digital Art’s New Visibility.” Our guests talked about how traditional venues embrace technologies like AI, gaming, and generative art and the importance of incorporating new technologies into such exhibitions.
“We make digital art more accessible. It’s like Spotify or Netflix for digital art. The same collection you see here you can bring to your home,” explained Gianluca Boccadifuoco, CEO and founder at Muro. He and his team bring digital art not only to physical spaces but also to people’s day-to-day lives. “The more we take a piece and stream it, the more that it defines the value of the work as well. It means the work is appreciated and used.”
Director at Arroz Estudio, Steven MacKay, has been promoting different types of activations - festivals, exhibitions, talks, parties - which bring digital art to their crowds at Arroz Stúdio in Lisbon. “Our work is about exposure, subjectivity, and also community. The community ultimately decides the value of an artwork; in this way, it can make a huge impact on the exposure and approachability of digital art.”
For the curator and initiator of 100 collectors, Pauline Foessel, who has been travelling the world to learn how digital art is presented in physical events in contexts so different as Riyadh, Dubai, and Miami, digital art is not linked to scarcity. “This was a value in art history, but today digital art does the opposite: promotes accessibility.” Still, for her, the relationship between digital art and the public ought to be developed both in the private sphere and public realm.
In this sense, curators’ responsibility is key to all of them. “The more screens and displays that come up, the more curators have the responsibility to decide what needs to go on those screens; otherwise, advertisers will take over,” says Boccadifuoco. "We need to promote art and experiences that can benefit the public. By taking control of those curation layers, we occupy those points of attention in the cities with art."
SCULPTURES CAN BE DIGITAL!
During the D-Art Encounters #1, we also launched the collection “Imagine!”, the first curated in conjunction between 100 collectors and Muro. It featured six digital art sculptures conceived by Spanish artist Irene Molina and American artist Zac Farmer. They explored the bold idea that sculpture is not only defined by marble or other tangible materials but can also come to life through the digital realm.
This prompts us to wonder what this could mean for artistic expression and how it might redefine our perception of sculptural forms.
