Electronic Arts Converge in Dubai as ISEA2026 Unfolds Its Expansive Academic Vision

The 31st International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art brings together scholars, artists and technologists for an unprecedented gathering exploring the boundaries between creativity, science and the digital landscape.

From the 6th to the 15th of November, Dubai becomes a crucible for contemplating the evolving relationship between art and technology. ISEA2026, the 31st International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art, unfolds under the theme ‘ELYAH: Constellating Place, Data, and Identity’, drawing together a global community of practitioners, theorists and innovators to examine how emerging technologies reshape creative expression and human experience.

Organised by Dubai Culture in partnership with Zayed University, this edition represents the largest in the symposium’s three decade history. The scope reflects the ambitions embedded within Dubai Culture’s Digital Arts Roadmap: to nurture creative talent, deepen research and innovation, and anchor the emirate’s standing as a destination where artistic inquiry flourishes at the intersection of heritage and technological possibility. H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, will deliver opening remarks, whilst Hala Badri, Director General, will welcome participants alongside keynote addresses from internationally distinguished voices in art, technology and academia.

The symposium divides into complementary programmes. An in-person Artistic Programme showcases more than 100 artworks across multiple venues, presenting installations, performances and visual experiences. The Online Academic Programme, meanwhile, sustains this intellectual momentum with 145 academic papers, more than 50 artist talks and panel discussions, over 10 workshops, and seven Eco Lab sessions, alongside more than 45 additional presentations across special tracks and institutional contributions. This architecture enables a truly international discourse: perspectives converge from multiple cultures and disciplines, enriching the conversation around electronic arts’ trajectory.

The academic sessions organise themselves around four thematic constellations. ‘Celestial Dialogues’ examines how digital media offers fresh interpretations of cultural heritage, exploring the translation of movement into visual language and the resonance between Indigenous philosophies and immersive technologies. ‘Charting Constellations’ considers technology’s reshaping of urban spaces and its role in preserving cultural memory. Under this theme, scholars investigate how social media algorithms influence city environments and how digital tools reimagine heritage presentation. ‘Eco-Tech Futures’ positions art as a vehicle for environmental contemplation, bringing together scientific research and creative practice to explore humanity’s relationships with the natural world. Here, presentations range from examinations of fungi as subjects for technical and performative exploration to experiments transforming river waste into instruments for studying rivers themselves. ‘Starlinked Worlds’ turns towards artificial intelligence and networked intelligence, investigating how technology reshapes identity, artistic expression and modes of communication beyond the human.

Scholars presenting include Katherine Hayles, Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta, artist, writer and co-founder of India’s Raqs Media Collective, whose multidisciplinary practice explores the intersections of contemporary art, technology and urban culture. These voices anchor the symposium’s intellectual ambition within a wider ecosystem of cultural exchange. As Dubai Culture continues to cultivate global networks of cultural leaders and practitioners, initiatives such as ISEA2026 reinforce the emirate’s commitment to fostering collaboration between local and international creative institutions.

The Online Academic Programme begins on the 6th of November with discussions and workshops, followed by core academic sessions from the 10th to the 14th of November. The in-person Artistic Programme offers free registration for all interested participants, who will receive personalised QR codes granting access to venues including the Al Wasl Dome, ARTE Museum and TODA (Theatre of Digital Art). Access to the Online Academic Programme requires paid registration, with students eligible for a 50 per cent discount when registering with a valid university email address.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

ISEA2026 represents a tangible manifestation of Dubai’s broader ambitions to position itself as a global centre for culture and creativity whilst anchoring its cultural economy in innovation. By hosting the largest edition of a symposium that has convened artists and scholars since its inception, the emirate signals its openness to intellectual inquiry and its willingness to invest in platforms where creative thinking flourishes. The symposium simultaneously reinforces the emirate’s commitment to advancing opportunities for learning and research that extend beyond its borders, creating networks through which knowledge and artistic practice circulate internationally.

For Abu Dhabi’s creative community and cultural institutions, ISEA2026 exemplifies the intellectual rigour and international engagement that characterise the region’s cultural development. The breadth of the academic programme, spanning questions of heritage preservation, environmental responsibility, artificial intelligence and urban transformation, demonstrates that creative practice in the 21st century encompasses urgent contemporary concerns. Through participation and attendance, local audiences and practitioners gain direct access to global conversations shaping the future of art and technology.

Source: WAM News Agency