CM Málaga calls together the cultural ecosystem to analyze the limits of digital art and the effects of AI on creation.

On June 22 and 23, the CM Málaga, Culture & Museums International Tech Forum will explore the boundaries of digital art and how artificial intelligence is redefining artistic creation at FYCMA (Palace of Congresses and Fairs of Málaga). This will be one of the thematic axes of its upcoming edition, which will bring together experts and professionals from the cultural ecosystem at the V International Symposium on Digital Solutions in Museums and Cultural Entities, under the direction of Lucía Ybarra and Rosina Gómez-Baeza, founders of the consulting firm YGBART.

Under the title 'The Postdigital Flow: Between Artistic Genesis, Gaze, and Trace', this meeting will address the influence of postdigital technologies in an initial lecture by Cezar Mocan, an artist and computer scientist. The role of digital art in the history of contemporary art will be debated in a panel consisting of Sandra Álvaro, a new media artist and PhD in Philosophy from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB); artist Lukas Truniger, with works presented internationally at institutions such as LABoral Art and Industrial Creation Center (Gijón), and Semíramis González, an art historian, cultural manager, and Spanish curator specialized in contemporary art with a feminist perspective.

In a second thematic block, the technical, conceptual, and ethical challenges faced by the preservation and exhibition of digital art will be analyzed. This panel will feature Dragan Espenschied, director of digital preservation at Rhizome; Vicente Matallana, director of the New Art Centre and the New Art Foundation, and Olga Sevillano, head of Digital Web and Digital Projects at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

Finally, in the third block of the symposium, the effects of the emergence of artificial intelligence and how it is reshaping notions of author, work, and memory, as well as artistic practice, critical frameworks, and legal and institutional structures will be analyzed. Philippe Boisnard, an artist, writer, and theorist linked to digital art, experimental poetry, and multimedia performance, will speak on this topic alongside Prodromos Tsiavos, head of Digital Development and Innovation at the Onassis Foundation and director of the Onassis ONX program.

Workshops and Technical Sessions

The program will continue through workshops and the IV International Technical Days for Professionals of the Cultural and Technological Sector, sessions that will delve into other strategic themes for the sector such as innovation applied to the communication of culture, funding lines, heritage conservation, collection management, technological solutions for cultural institutions, or the connection of territories through art.

Among the prominent institutions and entities confirmed to participate in the workshops are the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage, the Royal Tapestry Factory, and Newton Lab Space, along with the Picasso Museum Málaga and the Rafael Pérez Estrada Foundation.

In the case of the technical sessions, speakers will include Laura Miguel Baumann, general secretary of the European Crafts Alliance (ECA); Carlos Cruz Florencia, director of Education at the Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE); Antonello Grimaldi, general secretary of the Ambrosiana Library; Frank Rose, awards director at the Digital Storytelling Lab at the School of Arts (Columbia University); Tom Gabbard, CEO of Blumenthal Performing Arts, and Pierre Lochon, from Clic France. Registration for the CM Málaga, Culture & Museums International Tech Forum will open in mid-April.

During the last edition of CM Málaga, held in 2024, the event brought together 1,200 professionals, more than 200 companies and cultural entities, and representatives from 16 countries.

CM Málaga is organized by FYCMA (Palace of Congresses and Fairs of Málaga), the City Council of Málaga, along with the Department of Culture and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, with support from the SUR newspaper. Institutional partners include Andalucía Trade - Business Agency for Transformation and Economic Development of the Junta de Andalucía and Acción Cultural Española. Gnoss is the technological partner, and Fundación Unicaja and EulenArt are Golden partners. Collaborating entities include the University of Málaga, YGBART, European Crafts Alliance, and le Club Innovation & Culture CLIC.