What’s On Your Mind: George Bak

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A veteran of the contemporary art world, Georg Bak has been at the forefront of digital innovation in art for decades. Having started his career at Hauser & Wirth in the early 2000s, he has since become a leading art advisor, curator, and advocate for blockchain and AI-driven creativity. As the driving force behind pioneering initiatives like the Digital Art Mile—Basel’s first fully digital art fair—Bak continues to shape the evolving landscape of digital art. 

Ahead of the highly anticipated second edition of his digital fair, Bak shares with us his insights on the fair’s evolution, the rise of immersive experiences, and the transformative potential of blockchain in the art world.

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Arcual: The Digital Art Mile is renowned for its broad coverage of works from the 1960s onwards, as well as for its emphasis on education and curation. With the second edition taking place in Basel this June, can you tell us more about the show?

Georg Bak: The Digital Art Mile is a boutique art fair that sets itself apart from other Web3 events by focusing entirely on digital art. We aim to bring the best digital art galleries and platforms to Basel, covering a wide spectrum—from early digital works of the 1960s to today’s cutting-edge innovations.

Our mission goes beyond exhibitions; education is a key pillar of the fair. Our conference program addresses essential topics such as museums in Web3, corporate collections, AI and generative art, and the digital art market. Each year, we also curate a major digital art exhibition, showcasing the depth and diversity of this ever-evolving field.

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Arcual: What are you most excited about for this year’s edition of the fair?

Georg Bak: One of the highlights I’m particularly excited about is our upcoming exhibition, "Paintboxed", a collaboration with the Tezos Foundation and Objkt.

The Quantel Paintbox was one of the most significant digital graphic tools of the 1980s, widely used in broadcasting studios like MTV. It played a key role in the creation of iconic works—Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing music video, as well as legendary movie posters for Silence of the Lambs, Pulp Fiction, and JFK.

The BBC even invited major artists, including Richard Hamilton, David Hockney, and Larry Rivers, to create works for their “Painting with Light” series. Keith Haring himself made over 70 drawings and animations using the Paintbox.

Now, in collaboration with Adrian Wilson, who has collected an extensive archive of this groundbreaking tool, we are bringing an exhibition to Basel that the art world has never seen before.

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Arcual: What role do blockchain and NFTs play in the fair, and how do you see this evolving?

Georg Bak: This year, we’ll certainly see NFTs, primarily on Tezos and Ethereum. I firmly believe that in the near future, every artwork—whether physical or digital—will come with an NFT as a certificate of authenticity.

Blockchain technology enables us to trace the provenance of an artwork with precision, from its creation to every transaction. This level of transparency will fundamentally change the way art is authenticated and collected.

🔹 Explore Arcual’s blockchain tools to secure your own creative journey.

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Arcual: How do you see the future of digital art and immersive art spaces evolving in the next few years? 

Georg Bak: We’re witnessing a fascinating shift. Museums are staging large-scale digital art exhibitions and actively competing to define and canonize digital art. AI and blockchain have fueled an artistic revolution, inspiring creators to push boundaries like never before.

I would call the past decade the Golden Age of AI and crypto art—a period that will undoubtedly make its way into art history books. We are at the dawn of a major art movement, one that will redefine how we experience, interact with, and collect art.

The evolution of AI and blockchain technology has driven artists to create groundbreaking work, and I believe we are witnessing the dawn of a major art movement.

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Arcual: What innovations do you think will be critical for digital art platforms to adopt over the next five years to stay competitive?

Georg Bak: To remain relevant, platforms need to be blockchain-agnostic, enabling the trade of NFTs across multiple chains. But one of the biggest challenges still lies in the conservation of digital artworks.

Currently, decentralized storage solutions like Arweave and IPFS are not foolproof. In my view, we need a centralized institution dedicated to preserving digital art for future generations. Other crucial areas for innovation include secure, user-friendly custody solutions for digital assets and simpler transaction methods for collectors.

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