Art exhibitions held on digital platforms are becoming more common as both an aftereffect of the COVID-19 lockdowns and the incorporation of new technology into society.
In September, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City sold $70 million of art to fund its digital platform. Google has also uploaded dozens of virtual tours of the world’s most famous museums onto its Google Arts & Culture platform, including part of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Most online exhibitions are still nothing more than an attempt to render physical works of art more accessible by faithfully representing them online through photos and videos. However, some digital platforms are being used to display art that only exists in the digital realm.
Museums are accustomed to grappling with the question of how to host and display works of art made in new and different mediums as a result of changing technology. For example, multimedia installations have become a popular facet of modern art exhibitions. Galleries used to be halls of reverent silence; now, it is not uncommon for an exhibition to resound with the noise of a video or sound installation.
However, as the mediums in which artists create expand beyond video and sound, technology is forcing institutions to evolve and re-evaluate the traditional methods by which they display artwork.
The most prominent example of this is the use of blockchain technology to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are beginning to take hold in the art world. Christiane Paul, the digital art curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art, has described NFTs as “a natural extension of artistic practices in the digital field.”
As digital art gains greater acceptance within these elite circles, digital platforms continue to become more popular. There has been speculation about how the Metaverse could affect this trend by allowing artists to display their work in more democratic spaces that bypass the barriers of cost and access that come with traditional gallery space.
Naomi Beckwith, the deputy director and chief curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – which is also available to “visit” on Google – told the New York Times:
“We have hit a critical point where the technology that’s available to artists has far outpaced what museums can offer in terms of resources, so we have to beef up. If artists are working with technology, then we have to be able to hold it.”
So, here are five of the best exhibitions (in no particular order) to explore from the comfort of your home this holiday season:
1. 40% of Food in the US is Wasted (How the Hell is That Progress, Man?) by Mimi Ọnụọha, 2022
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as “The Whitney,” is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighbourhoods of Manhattan in New York City. Their online digital gallery, known as the “artport,” was originally launched in 2001, and acts as the Whitney Museum’s portal to internet and new media art.
This exhibition by Ọnụọha is a video installation exploring food waste in the United States. Not only will this video installation fit seamlessly into a rigorous schedule of Christmas films, but it might make you think about ways to reduce your own food waste over the course of this holiday season.
Is there a difference between an online video installation and simply streaming a video on Youtube? Maybe not, but you can still brag to your colleagues about how much of your free time over Christmas was spent absorbing culture rather than a dozen more cookies.
Find the exhibition here.
2. The Colour of the Climate Crisis by DesignKind, 2022
DesignKind is a series of collaborations between emerging designers from South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, exploring the relationship between racial justice and climate justice.
This exhibition displays pieces of interdisciplinary work that arose through a process of research and critical dialogue with the help of innovative digital collaboration tools. The themes include climate migration storytelling, comparative climate experiences in the oral tradition, and the mapping of colonial and climate histories through materials.
This exhibition is especially topical in the wake of COP27, which focused more than any climate summit yet on the subject of loss and reparations. Negotiations over possible climate reparations gave a voice to the disparity between the experience of wealthy nations who predominantly contribute to climate change and poorer, mostly non-white nations, who are currently suffering the severest impacts.
Find the exhibition here.
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3. The Archives by Fred Wilson, 2022
The online version of this exhibition is hosted by the Pace Gallery, a private American contemporary and modern art gallery with nine locations worldwide. It has a distinguished legacy as an artist-first gallery that mounts seminal historical and contemporary exhibitions and has spearheaded explorations into the intersection of art and technology.
Fred Wilson’s interdisciplinary practice centres around his investigations of the mutable nature of reclaimed objects. In this exhibition, he imbues these ready-made objects with personal and historical importance by refashioning and recontextualising them through his own artistic revisions.
In a time of year when many people enter into shopaholic overdrive, it can be useful to take a moment to reflect on the value of objects and how the context and history of a reclaimed item can add, rather than subtract, from its value.
Find the exhibition here.
Pace Gallery is also exploring the realm of NFT-based exhibitions via a collaboration between Pace Verso (the web3 hub of Pace Gallery) and Art Blocks (the leading platform for generative art). Find exhibitions such as “Contractions” here, and “Floating World Genesis” here.
4. Fragile Soil Fertile Soils, UNSSC 20th Anniversary Art Exhibition
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) hosted an art exhibition on the United Nations campus in Turin and their own online platform. The climate action-focused series hopes to inspire everyone to act as agents of change amidst the climate emergency.
Commissioned in partnership with the Association Internationale pour la Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs d’Europe et de la Méditerranée (BJCEM), this exhibition showcases international artists who offer unique ways of nurturing and healing the earth as a means of inspiring action to address climate change.
During a period of the year when many look forward to a moment of relaxation and restoration, it is worth remembering that we are not the only ones on the planet who could benefit from a bit of nurture and restored health.
Find the exhibition here.
5. Toxic Relationships: Uncovering the Worlds of Hazardous Waste by the The Environment & Society Portal, 2021
The Environment & Society Portal is a gateway to open access resources on the human-environment relationship. They haven’t held any exhibitions in 2022, but one of the beauties of online exhibitions is that they are less strictly bound by the necessities of time and space.
This exhibition from 2021 explores the threat of hazardous waste to the environment and human life through a bend of artwork, photography, and text. The creators promise to take the viewer “on a journey both into our research and to the edges of our societies that many prefer not to see.”
If you are feeling a bit too festive, and in need of some small talk that will enlighten your co-workers (but also risks dampening the mood of any company Christmas party), this is for you. This exhibition is also the digital equivalent of a gallery that has very long explanatory placards – therefore, it is probably best consumed before any mulled or sparkling wine.
Find the exhibition here.
An honourable mention: #CreateCOP26 and #CreateCOP27 by ShowStudio
These are the winners of two competitions for digital art exhibitions held during the lead-ups to COP26 and COP27, which intended to engage young artists on climate change. Both exhibitions are short, comprising just a few poignant and engaging images – perfect for quick inspiration if you need to come up with a socially acceptable new year’s resolution on the fly.
Rather than telling your co-worker or mother-in-law exactly how much weight you want to lose, or how much less frequently you want to go on a binge-shopping spree on Amazon, you can just say this: “In 2023, I want to be a climate ally.”
Find the exhibitions here and here.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Featured Photo: A painting titled “Ancient Rome” by Giovanni Paolo Panini that demonstrates the luxury of being able to keep and view artwork from home. Featured Photo Credit: Wikimedia.
