Dubai Spreads ISEA 2026 Digital Art Programme Across 20 Sites, With AI at Its Centre

The authority said this is the largest edition of the symposium, which has run since the late 1980s. Dubai is using the event to advance its Digital Arts Roadmap and to present itself as a base for the creative economy. Many of the installations use AI models, live data or robotics, which shows how quickly artists are adopting these tools.

The theme is "Al Yah: Arts Connecting Place, Data and Identity". Instead of collecting the work in one venue, the programme puts it in heritage districts, museums and public spaces. At Al Shindagha Museum, a piece by Carla Elías Torres and Julie D'Ambiere uses robotic arms that respond to visitors' movements. In Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, Adnan and Nina Softić turn Arctic climate data into sound. At Etihad Museum, Nico Kaba combines Islamic geometric patterns with visuals driven by breathing, heart rate and brain activity data.

Several works use AI as a creative system in their own right. Angela Ferraiolo's piece at Al Safa Art and Design Library uses two AI models that interact to produce constantly changing 3D forms. Weidi Zhang and Rodger Luo use AI to build an evolving virtual city out of personal and shared visual memories. A performance by Isaac Sullivan and Salem Rashid Skorlis generates its spoken text with an AI system called Chiron. Sandro Bocci's work at Canvas does the opposite: the authority said it was filmed with real fluids and modified lenses, without computer-generated imagery or AI.

Some participating artists described how they use the tools. Michael Ang, a professor of interactive media at New York University Abu Dhabi, told the Emirates News Agency that his Cyber Listening 2 installation at ARTE Museum Dubai explores a relationship with a local AI agent placed in a mirrored room. The agent keeps traces of its earlier encounters with people, raising questions about machine identity. He said the work was developed by a team from the UAE, Jordan and South Africa and is being shown for the first time in Dubai.

Spanish artist Solimán López told the agency that AI had multiplied his output tenfold, leaving him more time to develop ideas. Peruvian artist José Aburto said his work at Zayed University, which began as a manual project two years ago and was later developed with AI, explores ways for people to communicate with machines without screens.

Shaima Rashid Al Suwaidi, executive director of the arts, design and literature sector at Dubai Culture, said the programme reflects Dubai's cultural infrastructure and its ability to attract international artistic work. The symposium closes on November 15.