Art Basel and UBS Launch Series Exploring Digital Art’s Evolution

Art Basel and UBS released the first episode of their documentary series, Decoding Art in the Digital Era, on 30 September 2026. This episode, titled ‘What is Art in the Digital Era?’, examines the evolution of digital art and situates it within a broader historical context of artists engaging with new technologies. The series traces how digital art has developed over time, positioning it as part of a much longer history of artistic experimentation with technology.

The episode highlights that digital art did not originate with recent technological innovations such as NFTs, artificial intelligence, or the internet. Instead, artists have been working with computers and code since the 1960s. This ongoing engagement with new tools is presented as a continuation of artists’ longstanding practice of adopting and responding to technological changes in their creative processes.

Contemporary digital art practices are shown to encompass a wide range of approaches. These include generative systems, artificial intelligence, immersive environments, and decentralized networks. The episode explores how these diverse practices reflect the expanding possibilities for artistic expression in the digital era.

The film features contributions from several artists and experts. Artists Beeple, Manfred Mohr, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, and Sougwen Chung share their perspectives on digital art. The episode also includes insights from curator Christiane Paul, gallerist Sofia Garcia, critic Shumon Basar, and UBS art advisors Matthew Newton and Carola Wiese.

Through these varied viewpoints, the episode demonstrates how digital tools have challenged established ideas about what art can be. It reflects on how technology increasingly shapes the ways people communicate, create, and experience the world, and how this is mirrored in contemporary art practices.

The perspectives presented in the episode suggest that the distinction between ‘digital art’ and art more generally is becoming harder to maintain. The contributors indicate that this boundary may eventually disappear altogether as digital technologies become further integrated into artistic practice.

The production team for the series includes Art Basel’s producer and senior editor Alicia Reuter, editorial assistant Lama Yaghi, and head of brand and creative Jeanne-Salomé Rochat. The episode also credits production staff such as John Gatapia, Ryle Newo Torres, Yulia Piskuliyska, and Rissy McGrath, as well as acknowledging Hayley Jones, founder of Rose Social, for her contributions.