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Arts & Communication Digital AI transformation of the Chinese art industry

In the interviews conducted in this study, arts professionals In addition, 94% of the survey respondents used digital
recognized the direct impact of the societal context on technologies in various aspects of their creation processes.
their creative processes and acknowledged the rapid and Popular software include Unity, Unreal Engine, Visual
widespread digital transformation in the arts. They felt the Code, Miya, and Blender. The survey respondents reported
need to continuously adapt to new digital technologies using digital technologies for a range of purposes: 19%
and described how they have so far navigated the shift to a for creating visual arts, 15% for design, 11% for clipping
new digital environment. Ivey Lin, executive vice director images, 11% for inspiration, 9% for rendering purposes,
of the Xi’an Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts, said, “because and 9% for special effects (Figure 5).
now the country is talking about digitalization, culture Furthermore, 87.5% of the artists and arts professionals
plus technology, strategically digitizing everything. This interviewed used AI in at least one stage of the creation
is a big strategy of the country, so it is necessary for us process. Of the 22 interviewees, seven used AI throughout
to do it.” Jenny, a curator at the Longlati Foundation their creation process, three used it for image creation,
in Shanghai, highlighted China’s unique approach: “In five for debugging code or creating video scripts, three for
China, we have a very unique condition in terms of how writing scripts for final art pieces (particularly video artists),
the public interacts with new digital technologies […] and two for research. The results indicate that digiAI is
We have transformed much of our daily tools into virtual being used for creative tasks such as idea generation and
ones; it is advanced in global terms.” Chang, exhibition inspiration rather than for merely non-creative tasks such
manager at the Fosun Foundation in Shanghai, notes, as data processing or sorting (Figure 6). Specifically, 26%
“This willing energy is quite specific to China. You must of the survey respondents used AI for idea generation,
adapt to succeed in this new digital and rapidly changing 22% for inspiration, and 20% for artwork production. For
environment.”

Over the past decade, the most significant spikes in the
uptake of digital technologies occurred in 2020, 2022, and
2023, as shown in Figure 4. While this finding aligns with
global digital transformation trends and policies related to
the integration of art and technology, it is also connected to
the increased use of digiAI during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic allowed artists and arts professionals to
familiarize themselves with digiAI, experiment with creative
combinations of software and AI programs, and take online
courses to develop new digital skills. Wang Yiquan, a curator
5
and artist, reflects: “in the past 2 – 3 years, I have learned
more about and used more digital technologies, including Figure 4. Starting year of using digital technology
AI. Because of COVID, the physical path was not possible.”
In 2023, 21 of the surveyed artists started using AI,
representing an increase compared with the previous
years: 18 in 2022, 9 in 2021, and 19 in 2020.

5 Wang Yiquan (b. 1987) is an artist, curator, and designer
based in Shanghai. He is one of the founding partners
of Acts and Pathways, which is a design company that he
established in 2018 with designer Wu Jiayin. His research
interests as a curator focus on the relationship between
the city and art as well as the relationship between art and
the economy. He has contributed to a wide range of urban
spatial design and research projects in Shanghai, Beijing,
and Hangzhou. Wang Yiquan received his BA in Journalism
from the Beijing International Studies University. He also
studied Visual Communication Design at the Central
Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and completed his MA in
Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins in London.
Yiquan is originally from Beijing and now lives and works in Figure 5. Participants’ use of digital technology in the creation process
Shanghai. Abbreviations: AR: Augmented reality; VR: Virtual reality

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 8 doi: 10.36922/ac.3822