Dubai Culture unveils ISEA2026 Online Academic Programme

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has unveiled details of the academic programme for the 31st International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art (ISEA2026), taking place in Dubai from 6 to 15 November under the theme ‘ELYAH: Constellating Place, Data, and Identity’.

Organised by Dubai Culture in partnership with Zayed University, the symposium will explore the intersections of art, science and technology and examine the future of electronic arts. Set to be the largest edition in the symposium’s history, ISEA2026 reflects Dubai Culture’s commitment to advancing its Digital Arts Roadmap, supporting creative talent and expanding opportunities for learning, research and innovation. The event also supports Dubai’s ambition to strengthen its position as a global centre for culture and creativity, advance its creative economy and encourage innovation rooted in Emirati heritage.

The symposium will feature opening remarks by Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture).

The event will also feature welcome remarks by Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, alongside keynote addresses by prominent international figures in art, technology and academia.

Bringing together leading artists, thinkers, practitioners, academics and specialists from around the world, ISEA2026 will feature an in-person Artistic Programme showcasing more than 100 artworks, including installations, performances and visual experiences at venues across Dubai.

The Online Academic Programme will complement these activities with research presentations, discussions and opportunities for exchanging knowledge and expertise on emerging trends in electronic arts. It will feature 145 academic papers, more than 50 artist talks and panel discussions, over 10 workshops, more than 45 workshops, panel discussions and presentations across the Special Tracks, seven Eco Lab workshops and over 20 institutional presentations. The extensive programme reflects the symposium’s international reach and the diversity of its participants, bringing together perspectives from across cultures and disciplines.

Her Excellency Hala Badri highlighted the symposium’s importance as a global platform for exchanging knowledge and expertise, strengthening collaboration and exploring new possibilities in electronic arts.

She said: “Guided by the vision of its leadership and its forward-looking ambitions, Dubai continues to strengthen its presence on the global creative map, reinforcing its position as a leading destination for talent and a centre for artistic dialogue and exchange.”

Badri added: “Hosting ISEA2026 reflects the emirate’s ability to attract creatives from around the world, as well as its commitment to supporting innovation and creating an enabling environment where artists can explore the possibilities of technology and harness its potential to develop distinctive artistic experiences that enrich the creative landscape and contribute to the growth of the cultural and creative industries.”

She also highlighted the symposium’s role in strengthening connections between art, science and technology, encouraging partnerships between local and international creative institutions and advancing artistic practices that make the arts more accessible to different segments of society.

International Speakers
The symposium will feature keynote presentations by internationally renowned figures in art, thought and technology, including Katherine Hayles, Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and James B. Duke Professor Emerita at Duke University; and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, artist, writer, curator and co-founder of India’s Raqs Media Collective, whose multidisciplinary work explores the intersections of contemporary art, technology, history and urban culture.

The Online Academic Programme will begin on 6 November with discussions and workshops across its Special Tracks, followed by the core academic sessions from 10 to 14 November.

The programme is structured around four themes: ‘Celestial Dialogues’, ‘Charting Constellations’, ‘Eco-Tech Futures’ and ‘Starlinked Worlds’. Together, they will explore the relationships between place, memory, identity and emerging technologies, alongside environmental responsibility and the future of human interaction in the digital world.

Four Core Themes
Under ‘Celestial Dialogues’, discussions will examine how digital media can offer new interpretations of cultural heritage and approaches to storytelling and creative expression. Suheil Dahdal’s paper, ‘Speculative Archiving: Digital Re-inhabitation and the Seamless Fusion of Fact and Fiction in Khaled & Nema’, will explore the relationship between digital filmmaking and cultural memory. Maya Sarfaty’s ‘The Body as Translator: From Movement Improvisation to Typographic Action in an Embodied Translation Model’ will examine how movement can be translated into digital visual language, while ‘Worlding the Digital Skin: Reciprocal Animations and the Humanistic Cosmos of Cuauhtencoztli’ by Ina Conradi Chavez and Mark Chavez will explore connections between Indigenous philosophies and immersive media.

Charting Constellations’ will explore how technology is shaping cities and public spaces, preserving cultural memory and offering new ways to present heritage. Among the featured papers, ‘Spatial Seizure in Algorithmic Contexts: Invisible Media and Fluid Narratives in Xiaohongshu’s ‘REDLAND’ Phenomenon’ by Lixin Bao will examine the influence of social media algorithms on urban environments.

‘Eco-Tech Futures’ will focus on the relationship between art and the environment through experiences combining scientific research and creative practice. These include ‘Making Kin With Fungi: Technical Cognition, Humor, and the Chthulucene’ by Yitao Yuan, which explores human relationships with nature through fungi, performance and humour. Another presentation, ‘Self-reference Microscope’ by Tomoya Ishibashi, will examine an experiment in transforming river waste into microscopes used to study the river itself.

‘Starlinked Worlds’ will examine the impact of technology on human experience. ‘AI, Identity, and Generative Existence in the Post-Digital Era: The Jane Writing Project’ by Yu-Chuan Tseng will explore identity and artificial intelligence through evolving artistic personas. ‘Star Seeds and learning to communicate with networked intelligence’ by Martina Mrongovius will use responsive light to explore communication with unfamiliar forms of intelligence, while ‘Mass Generation: Humanizing Art Styles in AI Animation’ by Hannes Rall and Alice Yang will examine ways to preserve human artistic expression in AI-assisted animation.

International Collaboration
Highlighting the importance of the international community that ISEA brings together, the ISEA International Board said: “Each edition of ISEA is unique, and yet, the constant thread is the unbeatable energy that emerges when artists and scholars come together during an ISEA symposium. Beyond the opportunity to experience cutting-edge artworks and hear passionate artists and researchers address urgent topics, conversations among ISEA delegates are truly electric and carry seeds of future international collaboration in the fields of arts, science, and technology. We look forward to these conversations and exchanges of ideas during the 31st edition of ISEA, which will unfold online. We hope audiences in Dubai will enjoy the artistic programme presented at venues including the Al Wasl Dome, ARTE Museum, and TODA (Theatre of Digital Art). Together, these programmes reflect ISEA’s commitment to connecting communities, fostering dialogue and inspiring new perspectives.”

Registration Details
Registration for the symposium’s in-person Artistic Programme is free of charge. Registered participants will receive a personalised QR code granting access to participating venues across Dubai.

Access to the Online Academic Programme requires a paid ticket, with joining details sent to the email address provided during registration. Students are eligible for a 50% discount when registering with a valid university email address, allowing them to attend academic sessions and engage with the programme’s content.

Those interested in attending ISEA2026 can register at https://isea2026.eventshub.ai/en/login.