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Arts & Communication Digital AI transformation of the Chinese art industry

worldwide, assisting in the creation of policies for digiAI Table 1. Information about visual artists interviewed in
integration and ensuring job security and sustainability. this study (ages are accurate as of the interview date in
2023/2024)
2. Data and methods
Profession Age Gender
This study documented the digiAI transition in the Artist (public and sculpture) 31 Female
contemporary art industry in China. It aimed to understand Artist (painting) 36 Female
how these technologies have been integrated nationally
and how they have been adopted and accepted by artists Artist (installation/sculpture) 39 Female
and arts professionals in their practices. The overarching Artist (sculpture) 27 Female
goal was to determine how professionals can adopt digiAI Artist (video) and business owner of art community 42 Male
while maintaining creativity and innovation and how Artist (public artist) 28 Female
the contemporary art industry can evolve along with Artist (sculpture) 45 Male
this transition. The research objectives were as follows: Artist (video and installation) 30 Male
reviewing national-level policies to understand how the Artist (sculpture) 33 Male
Chinese government is directing the pace and breadth of
digiAI integration into the contemporary art industry; Artist (multimedia artist) 33 Male
surveying artists to determine when and how they adopted, Artist (film, drawing, and performance) 36 Male
accepted, and started using digiAI; and consulting with arts Artist (sculpture) 59 Male
professionals about their views on the digital transition in Artist (mixed-media) 30 Male
the contemporary art industry, including the social factors Artist/visual designer (mixed-media) 28 Female
influencing this transition, their thoughts about working Artist (painter) and art space director 35 Male
with digiAI, and impacts on their practices. Artist (printmaker) 61 Male
This study employed a mixed-methods approach, Artist (new media, game art, and video) 28 Male
as outlined in studies on industry development, 27,28 Artists (digital and internet) 25 Male
including qualitative interviews, a quantitative survey, Artist (mixed-media) 20 Female
and a systematic review of government policies. The Artist (multimedia) 34 Male
methodology involved analyzing government policy
documents and individual perspectives and combining Artist (video and metaverse) 39 Male
first-hand interviews, survey data, and secondary policy Artist (sculpture) 28 Female
data. This combination was chosen to achieve the breadth Artist (multimedia) 29 Male
and depth of knowledge necessary to adequately address Artist (multimedia) 34 Female
the research questions. This approach is also referred to Artist (painting) 42 Male
by Edwards et al. as the “breadth-and-depth method,” Artist (multimedia) 26 Female
29
which allows for detailed data analysis while maintaining Artist (photography) 34 Male
awareness of the societal context.
Artist (photography) 30 Female
Thirty semistructured interviews were conducted with Researcher/artist/curator 32 Female
contemporary visual artists, including painters, video Artist (sculpture and installation) 35 Male
artists, multimedia artists, sculptors, new media artists,
internet artists, and photographers. The inclusion criteria
were as follows: participants were Chinese nationals information about the visual artists interviewed in this
currently working in the contemporary art industry in study.
China, residing in China, and had graduated from an art Twenty-three semistructured interviews were
school, academy, or university. Interviews were conducted conducted with arts professionals, including curators,
between May 2023 and February 2024, covering topics gallery owners, art community directors, and museum
such as how and when professionals adopted and accepted workers, who worked in the contemporary art industry
digital technologies in their practices, their relationships (as opposed to the cultural heritage industry or science
with these technologies, and their perceptions of technology museums), had graduated in their respective fields, and
use. The age range of participants was 27 – 59 years. The lived and worked in China. This population provided a
study sample provided a broad perspective on the use of broad understanding of current trends and digital practices
digiAI and allowed an examination of how practices in the in the contemporary art industry, allowing us to confirm
contemporary art industry have evolved. Table 1 presents and contextualize contemporary visual artists’ interview

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.3822