Expert Takes: Shaïna Silva

What impact do you see the metaverse having on the world of art?

The community aspect is exciting. Artists love building communities and supporting one another. They gain inspiration from each other. So having access to a shared space like the metaverse is going to inspire a great deal of incredible art. I think it will act as a catalyst and foster a lot of innovation.

It will also create an incredible opportunity for people from all over the world to experience art. For example, our most recent event was in London. A lot of people would have loved to see the various works and exhibitions, yet if they were unable to travel they would have missed out on the entire thing. The metaverse could enable all those people to experience Digital Art Week just as it happened. This means the metaverse could also give artists more exposure by reaching new audiences.

There are many potential applications too, from virtual exhibitions through to live performances and interactive installations. And all of that art will be persistent. At present, Digital Art Week spends a year creating a week-long programme of 42 events, and it feels like it goes by in a split second. But if we could build all that in a metaverse, people could revisit it as many times as they wanted to.

So our goal is to build our events into metaverse experiences over the next three years. We are now working on choosing the right partners, to ensure those experiences will be comprehensive, accessible, and focused on education. My ultimate motivation is to democratise art. I think art has always been a very closed-off environment for many people, and the metaverse is an incredible opportunity to change that.

In the meantime, how are you planning to integrate next-generation technologies into Digital Art Week events?

Our goal is to use AR, VR, and even AI experiences to transform the ways in which­ audiences can engage with art. VR and AR installations already enable visitors to immerse themselves in digital artworks in a way that transcends the limitations of physical spaces. Our future­ exhibits will integrate pop-up moments, where visitors can use their phones to access an AR­ experience and interpret the art within the­ cityscape – with AR acting like a portal.

We are passionate about using this technology to create positive moments of serenity. With all the noise and bustle of urban environments, much of my focus is on providing moments of ­ relaxation. I loved what Krista Kim did at Outernet, the big immersive space in central London. We chose a piece called Continuum, whose gradient lights and music offered a real reprieve from the constant noise on one of Europe’s busiest streets. That, to me, is a really interesting way of using the technology.

What role do you see for AI in digital art?

I think the really exciting part is it creates more avenues for artists to explore. The artists we love to platform are creating incredible art, and they all have completely different ways of using
technology. Some use algorithms, while others run their pieces through generative AI. This creates more opportunities. AI can even be used in ways where the artist doesn’t really have to interact with the work at all, and yet it’s still art. There are so many ways these tools can be used, and I think many of them are probably quite different from what people imagine.

What effects do you think blockchain technology will have on digital rights and intellectual property issues?

I think it could solve a lot of problems. By making things really clear and seamless, blockchain technology will prevent a lot of the ­ copyright issues that we have seen in the past. Our goal is for people working in this space to feel safe, which is why our main focus is on education: how can we
educate and protect these artists? Many of the talks we organised during Digital Art Week were on topics directly related to AI, IP, and digital ownership. What I saw is that once artists found the information that they were looking for, it brought them peace of mind.

With any new technology, there is always a period of trial and error to identify what works and where the holes are. That’s where we are now: holes are being patched, education is happening,
and people are really starting to understand where they can go from here.

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