CIFRA announces the formation of the CIFRA Artistic Vision Council, an international advisory body created to shape the platform’s long-term artistic direction, research agenda, and institutional positioning.
CIFRA has announced the establishment of the CIFRA Artistic Vision Council, an international advisory body designed to guide the platform’s long-term artistic vision, research priorities, and institutional development.
The Council is chaired by Olga Shishko, Chief Art Curator at CIFRA, as well as a curator and researcher specializing in media art and digital culture. Under her leadership, the Council will contribute strategic perspectives on seasonal programming, partnerships, the structure of awards, editorial planning, and public initiatives.
Its mandate for 2026 includes shaping thematic seasons, identifying key artists and curators, advising on collaborations with cultural institutions, helping define the criteria for the CIFRA Award, and providing curatorial input for CIFRA TV along with editorial selections.
The Council will operate through six joint sessions each year, supplemented by individual consultations and written contributions. This format is intended to ensure ongoing and substantive participation from members rather than purely symbolic involvement.
Chair
Olga Shishko
Curator and media art researcher working across Europe and the Middle East. Founding director of MediaArtLab Center for Culture and Art (now at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice). Chief Art Curator at CIFRA. Her practice focuses on media art archives, net art, expanded art and post-internet art and the institutional frameworks of media art collections.
Members of the CIFRA Artistic Vision Council
Daniela Arriado
Curator and cultural strategist working at the intersection of contemporary art and new technologies. Founder and Artistic Director of Screen City Biennial, dedicated to the expanded moving image. Vice Chair of IKT – International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art. Advisor to institutions on integrating digital art into public programming.
David Elliott
Curator, writer, and cultural historian with more than four decades of institutional leadership. Former Director of the Museum of Modern Art Oxford, Moderna Museet (Stockholm), founding Director of Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), and first Director of Istanbul Modern. Curator of major biennials including the 17th Biennale of Sydney and the Kyiv Biennale. Known for advancing a global perspective in contemporary art.
Oliver Grau
Media art historian and digital humanities scholar. Founder of the MediaArtHistories World Conference and Director of the Archive of Digital Art. Author of Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (MIT Press), one of the most cited books in media art history. Initiator of international curricula in media art and digital collection management.
Martin Honzik
Artist, curator, and cultural manager. He serves as Curator for Artistic Projects at the Department of Culture of the State of Upper Austria and Project Director of communale OÖ. He is also Co-Curator and Program Coordinator of OÖ KulturExpo 2027. Previously, Honzik was CEO of FestivalX in the UAE and held positions of Chief Curator and Co-Managing Director of the Ars Electronica Festival, Export, and Prix Ars Electronica.
Lev Manovich
Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Foundational theorist of new media studies, software studies, cultural analytics, and AI aesthetics. Author of The Language of New Media, Software Takes Command, and Artificial Aesthetics.
Christiane Paul
Curator of Digital Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art and Professor Emerita at The New School. Recipient of the MediaArtHistories International Award. Curator of numerous landmark exhibitions defining the institutional presentation of digital art.
More information: https://cifra.com/
