What’s On Your Mind: Digital Strategist Süreyya Wille on Why the Future of Art Is Both Digital and Traditional

‍At this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach, Arcual speaks with Digital Sales Strategist Süreyya Wille, a seasoned expert in art and technology. Currently consulting with White Cube, Süreyya has honed her skills at leading platforms like Artsy and Artnet, making her uniquely positioned to explore a pressing question shaping the art world today: Why are major art institutions embracing digital art, while traditional galleries remain hesitant to engage?

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Arcual: Why are major institutions like museums increasingly embracing digital art, and why do galleries appear hesitant to follow suit?

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Süreyya Wille: The art world operates differently from other industries. Surprisingly, it’s often institutions—like museums and nonprofits—leading digital innovation, rather than private commercial players.

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For museums, acquiring works that reflect the cultural zeitgeist is part of their mission. Consider MoMA’s acquisition of Refik Anadol’s Unsupervised. This purchase happened just weeks before ChatGPT’s launch, perfectly capturing the cultural moment. It wasn’t just timely—Unsupervised drew record visitors, demonstrating how embracing cutting-edge mediums can also serve audience engagement goals.

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For galleries, however, their goals are different. Many lack the in-house expertise to confidently exhibit, sell, and maintain digital works. This knowledge gap creates hesitation. That said, the tide is turning, and galleries are beginning to develop the infrastructure needed to navigate this space.

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Arcual: What challenges do institutions face when integrating digital art into their programming?

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Süreyya Wille: Exhibiting digital art is no small feat. It requires technical infrastructure, specialized expertise, and often costly equipment. Digital media can also have a limited lifespan—hard drives fail, software may no longer be supported, and technologies can become outdated.Museums must plan for long-term preservation, migrating works to newer platforms over time.

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From a curatorial standpoint, digital art often relies on audience interaction, which can be intimidating for viewers unfamiliar with its interfaces. Additionally, finding the right exhibition spaces to accommodate the performative and interactive nature of these works can be difficult. Despite these challenges, museums have demonstrated a commitment to digital innovation, actively addressing these hurdles to enrich their collections and programming.

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Arcual: How do you see the relationship between digital and traditional art evolving over the next decade?

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Süreyya Wille: With time, I anticipate the distinction between digital and traditional art will fade. Digital is a medium much like painting or video.
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While some galleries will specialize in digital art, as others do with photography or sculpture, digital mediums will increasingly become part of the 'regular' artistic dialogue.

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Arcual: What advice would you give to galleries hesitant to embrace digital art?

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Süreyya Wille: Dismissing digital art would be unwise. Technology offers unparalleled tools for creative expression, reshaping how art is made, communicated, and appreciated. Galleries should continue to support artists working in all mediums, adapting to meet their artists and collectors where they are.

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It is worth noting that photography faced similar resistance from the art world. Initially dismissed as a mechanical process lacking human creativity, photography eventually gained acceptance and recognition as a legitimate and coveted art form.

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Starting small—perhaps by exhibiting one digital artist or including a few digital works in their programming—could be a first step for galleries curious but unsure how to enter this market.

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Closing Thoughts

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Engaging with digital art offers galleries a chance to attract new collectors, expand their audience, and explore innovative sales models. Tools like Arcual’s blockchain-backed platform address critical challenges in the digital art world, such as the rise of deepfakes and the need for verified authenticity. By providing blockchain-secured Certificates of Authenticity (CoAs), Arcual ensures the provenance and authorship of artworks, offering both artists and collectors confidence in their investments.

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Additionally, Arcual’s Digital Portfolio empowers artists to future-proof their work, preserving archival documentation and supporting materials that secure the legacy of digital and ephemeral artworks as technology evolves. This helps galleries build trust with collectors while embracing the innovation digital art brings to the art market.

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The future of art isn’t about choosing between digital and traditional—it’s about embracing both and empowering artists to create meaningful work, no matter the medium.