ISEA2026  - DUBAI (APRIL 10 - 19 2026)

The City of Dubai will be hosting the 31st edition of The International Symposium on Electronic Art / Emerging Art (ISEA2026), under the theme of ELYAH: CONSTELLATING PLACE, DATA AND IDENTITY. As Dubai is a city defined by accelerated innovation and creative ambition, where desert meets data, and where the future is actively designed. ELYAH invites participants to explore how light and code, story and system, converge to form new ways of understanding. Just as ancient navigators turned to the stars, today’s artists and technologists interpret the signals of an algorithmic cosmos, charting the digital unknown with creativity as their compass.At the heart of this exploration is art—giving form to abstraction, emotion to data, and human perspective to systems. Through installation, performance, moving image, sound, code, and other emergent media, ISEA2026 will transform Dubai into a living constellation of experiences, where the poetic meets the programmable, and imagination proposes new modes of infrastructure.

'ELYAH' Traces a Dual Trajectory

It honours humanity’s instinct to look skyward for meaning, while calling on creative communities to imagine what lies ahead. As stars once connected distant geographies, so too can electronic art, AI, and immersive technologies forge relationships across cultures and disciplines—sparking dialogue, collaboration, and new forms of expression.

Set against the visionary backdrop of Dubai, ISEA2026 frames this convergence of the digital and celestial as both a mirror and a beacon—reflecting who we are and illuminating who we might become.

Sub-Themes

Charting Constellations – Digital geographies

This theme explores concepts of location and locality in the digital age, exploring how electronic art reflects, reshapes, and reimagines our understanding of place, identity, and community within an increasingly connected world.

Keywords: Geolocation, Place, Digital Identity, Virtual Mapping, AI-assisted Cartography, Social Networks, Personal Cartographies

Celestial Dialogues – Intercultural dialogue

This theme promotes intercultural exchange and collaboration through storytelling and technological mediation. It considers how creative practices, and digital tools foster shared experiences that span cultures and disciplines while illuminating connections between human and cosmic life.

Keywords: Cultural Exchanges, Digital Performances, Digital Storytelling, AI Translation, Immersive Experiences, Hybrid Reality, VR/AR, Projection Mapping

Eco-Tech Futures – Ecologies of place

This theme addresses the intersection of electronic art and environmental responsibility, highlighting practices that advocate for ecological awareness, critical futures thinking, and sustainable technological engagement.

Keywords: Ecological Art, Climate Change, AI for Sustainability, Environmental Storytelling, Generative Data Art, Data Aesthetics, Sensorial and Accessibility Technology

Starlinked Worlds – Symbiotic imaginaries

This theme considers the evolving relationship between technology and human experience, inviting reflection on ethical, philosophical, and speculative dimensions of emerging futures—on Earth and beyond.

Keywords: Posthumanism, AI Ethics, Generative Systems, Digital Embodiment, Technological Futures, Immersive Worlds

For more details: https://isea-2026.isea-international.org/introduction-themes/

ISEA2026 Submissions

- Artistic Proposal (Deadline: 7th Nov 2025)

- Academic Proposal (Deadline: 7th Nov 2025)

- Special Track Proposal (Deadline: 1st Dec 2025)

For more information on submission guidelines and instructions, please visit our website https://isea-2026.isea-international.org/submission/

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