ArtMeta Transforms Basel’s Historic Core During Art Basel 2025

From June 16 to 22, Basel’s Rebgasse district became the pulsating heart of digital creativity during the inaugural Digital Art Mile, an ambitious new fair presented by ArtMeta. Running alongside the famed Art Basel, this boutique event carved out space for digital art’s often overlooked frontier — showcasing robots, NFTs, AI-driven works, and generative art within historic venues like Space25, the 4th Floor, and Kult.Kino Cinema.

Co-founded by curator Georg Bak and digital entrepreneur Roger Haas, ArtMeta’s mission is clear: to elevate digital art beyond mere novelty and embed it within a cultural and historical narrative. The fair’s programming combined cutting-edge exhibitions with a robust conference series featuring global thought leaders from the Whitney Museum, BMW, The Sandbox, and more — fostering dialogue on digital art’s evolving role in museums, corporate branding, and cultural economies.

A standout was the ‘Paintboxed’ exhibition, resurrecting the 1980s Quantel Paintbox tool — a digital pioneer that shaped visuals from MTV to iconic film posters. Contemporary artists reimagined the tool’s legacy, creating works both analog and NFT-based, bridging past and future digital art forms.

Across Rebgasse 31’s reimagined warehouse, visitors encountered immersive AI and avatar explorations, autonomous robotic painters, and retrospective showcases of early digital art pioneers. The event’s multi-layered approach spotlighted digital art’s expanding ecosystem — from blockchain to machine creativity — inviting collectors, curators, and the public to engage with a vibrant new art frontier emerging at the crossroads of technology and tradition.

Digital Art Mile signals a turning point for digital media, asserting Basel as a vital hub for art’s next evolution and promising ongoing expansion of digital discourse and curation worldwide.

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