Art Basel and UBS Launch Series Exploring Digital Art Evolution

Art Basel and UBS released the first episode of their five-part film series, "Decoding Art in the Digital Era," on 30 September 2026. The series investigates how digital technologies have influenced the evolution of art and how artists have continually responded to new tools throughout history.

The inaugural episode, titled "What is Art in the Digital Era?", explores the development of digital art by situating it within a broader historical context. It emphasizes that digital art’s origins precede recent innovations such as NFTs, artificial intelligence, or the internet, and can be traced back to the 1960s, when artists began to experiment with computers and code.

The episode highlights that today’s digital art practices are diverse, encompassing generative systems, artificial intelligence, immersive environments, and decentralized networks. These practices reflect the ongoing expansion of artistic possibilities enabled by technological advancements.

Featured contributors to the episode include artists Beeple, Manfred Mohr, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, and Sougwen Chung. Their perspectives are complemented by those of curator Christiane Paul, gallerist Sofia Garcia, critic Shumon Basar, and UBS art advisors Matthew Newton and Carola Wiese.

The episode demonstrates how digital tools have challenged established ideas of what art can be. It also reflects a culture in which technology increasingly shapes how people communicate, create, and experience the world around them.

According to the perspectives presented, the distinction between "digital art" and art more generally is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. The episode suggests that this boundary may eventually disappear altogether as digital practices become further integrated into the art world.

Production credits for the episode include Alicia Reuter (Producer and Senior Editor), Lama Yaghi (Editorial Assistant), and Jeanne-Salomé Rochat (Head of Brand & Creative) from Art Basel. The creative team also includes John Gatapia and Ryle Newo Torres (Animations), Yulia Piskuliyska (Studio Manager), and Rissy McGrath (Producer). Special thanks are given to Hayley Jones, Founder of Rose Social, for her support of the project.