Ideas to move across borders at ISEA2026

More than 500 artists, scientist and researchers from around the world to gather in Dubai

The ISEA Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art is taking place in Dubai in 2026.

Technology and creative practice today intersect in ways that reshape contemporary expression.

The rise of digital arts and its integration into everyone's lives offers us new perspectives, new discussion topics, and new viewpoints.

The ISEA Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art, where these viewpoints are discussed and new interpretations in art are formed, is to take place in Dubai in 2026. ISEA, which will be held across the city, will open its doors for nine days to exhibitions, panels, city experiences, mapping shows, immersive experiences, and performances under the theme of "Elyah".

A digital dawn

"Elyah: Constellating Place, Data and Identity" marks a landmark of the International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art, bringing together diverse minds and perspectives around shared questions of meaning.

From April 10 to 19, more than 500 artists, scientists and researchers from around the world will gather in the city to consider how our relationship with data and the environments we inhabit is shifting in a rapidly evolving digital world.

Dubai is creating a shared meeting space through its initiatives specifically focused on digital arts and the support it provides to artists and academics. It demonstrates the emirate’s evolving cultural infrastructure, rooted in innovation and radical creativity, while also opening space for new collaborations and forms of expression.

A constellation of experiences

The programme structure reflects this expansive vision. Four thematic pillars - Charting Constellations; Celestial Dialogues; Eco–Tech Futures, and Starlinked Worlds - anchor the symposium’s exhibitions, academic panels, talks and performances. Each theme becomes a galaxy of its own, presenting work that probes questions of identity, environment, and technologically shaped futures.

Rather than being contained within a single institution, the event unfolds across the city in a decentralised rhythm, through immersive installations, performances, and cross-disciplinary interventions. From university spacesto cultural venues and public sites, the programme extends across the city for those exciting ten days. For Dubai, it becomes a chance to take an active role in the dialogue between culture and code.

Global ideas

While the symposium’s reach is international, its roots are local. The partnership with Zayed University ensures deep intellectual rigour and regional relevance. The call for proposals welcomes artists, researchers, and practitioners across digital arts, media, performance and academic research.

Submissions cover a wide range of formats, including installations, screenings, interactive works, and exhibitions, as well as academic papers, panels, talks, workshops, and special-track proposals. The breadth of categories reflects ISEA’s commitment to interdisciplinary and technology-driven artistic practices, offering multiple pathways for creative and scholarly engagement.

Dubai is taking significant steps in digital arts, enabling various collaborations, and this symposium and event are a key part of that momentum. ISEA2026 affirms the UAE’s place in the wider arts landscape - a point of convergence where ingenuity is given room to grow.