Present-Day Digital Technologies and Tools in Contemporary Art Curating

Duration

Aug. 12 - Aug. 26, 2026

Enroll before

Aug. 08, 2026

One-time Payment

113.00 € (incl. VAT)

This course offers an overview of present-day digital technologies and tools in contemporary art and curating. Across three sessions, we will explore hybrid, physical-digital exhibitions, evolving notions of materiality, and how to use digital world-building as a curatorial strategy.

Through a selection of key ideas and case studies, you will gain a critical overview of where we stand today — and where digital art might be headed next.

Over three sessions, we will cover:

Hybrid exhibition practices that unite physical and digital spaces from the early 1990s to today.
New-materialist ideas and their impact on curating and on the changing views of digital materiality
Worldbuilding as a concept and as a curatorial method
Game engines, ThreeJS, and other platforms as curatorial tools

This short course is the second module of the Curating the Digital Program: Exhibition-Making in the Age of VR, AR and New Technologies, a six-month online program for curators and art professionals interested in exploring the possibilities of curating in the digital age. This course may also be taken as a stand-alone offering.

Image: Franz Fischnaller, CC BY-SA 4.0

Session 1: Hybrid Curating

In this session, we explore how contemporary curatorial practice has evolved alongside digital technologies, focusing on the emergence of hybrid exhibition formats that connect physical and online spaces.

The evolution of hybrid exhibitions from the early 1990s to the present
Digital mediation and the relationship between physical and virtual audiences
Artistic research and new institutional models for hybrid curating
Evaluating participation, accessibility, and impact in hybrid exhibition formats

Session 2: Digital Materiality

This week, we examine how digital technologies have transformed our understanding of materiality and consider their implications for contemporary curating.

New-materialist perspectives on digital art and curatorial practice
Digital objects, virtual environments, and changing notions of materiality
Curating across physical and digital media
Contemporary approaches to integrating analogue and digital artworks

Session 3: Worldbuilding

In our final session, we introduce worldbuilding as a curatorial methodology and explore how digital technologies can be used to construct immersive, networked, and participatory cultural experiences.

Worldbuilding as a conceptual framework for curating
Designing exhibitions and cultural experiences across interconnected platforms
Game engines, Three.js, and emerging digital tools for curatorial practice
Future directions for digital art, curating, and hybrid cultural production

Language
Classes are held in English.

Format & Modality
The course is fully online and taught live via Zoom in small, interactive groups to support active learning. Live captioning is available during the sessions.

Schedule
Live sessions take place every Wednesday, from 6pm to 8pm (Berlin time, CEST).

Attendance
Live attendance is encouraged to get the most out of the course, but recordings are available if you cannot attend a session.

Course Materials
All course materials—including recordings, readings, and presentations—are available on the Node platform for as long as you wish.

Assignments
Optional assignments are included, with personal feedback from the lecturers to help you apply what you learn. Please note that feedback is provided only during the course dates.

Certificate
A downloadable certificate is available upon course completion.

Technical Requirements
A stable internet connection, a computer with a camera and microphone, and access to Zoom are required.

Questions?
Check our FAQ or contact us via our online form.