CIFRA Launches Artistic Vision Council to Shape Curatorial Direction and Strategic Development

CIFRA, a digital art platform for streaming contemporary art and cinema,  announced the formation of the CIFRA Artistic Vision Council – an international advisory structure built to shape the platform’s long-term artistic direction, research agenda, and institutional positioning.

The Council is led by Olga Shishko, Chief Art Curator at CIFRA, a researcher specialized in media art and digital culture. Under her guidance, the advisory body will provide strategic input on seasonal programming, partnerships, award frameworks, editorial strategy, and public initiatives.

In 2026, the Council will focus on shaping CIFRA’s thematic seasons, identifying key artists and curators to collaborate, advising on potential institutional collaborations, contributing to the development of the CIFRA Award criteria, guiding editorial selections, and supporting curatorial narrative for CIFRA TV.

It was announced that the Council will be operating through six annual sessions, which will be complemented by individual consultations and written contributions, enabling sustainable and active engagement rather than a purely symbolic role. Alongside Olga Shishko, the Council also includes Daniela Arriado, David Elliot, Oliver Grau, Martin Honzik, Lev Manovich, and Christiane Paul.

Daniela Arriado is a curator specialising in contemporary art and new technologies, who is actively integrating digital art into public programming among institutions. She is also Founder and Artistic Director of Screen City Biennial, Vice Chair of the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art.

David Elliott, curator and art historian with more than four decades of experience in institutional leadership and curatorial practice, including directing major international exhibitions such as the 17th Biennale of Sydney and the Kyiv Biennale. He is the 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.

Oliver Grau, a historian specialising in media art, Founder of the MediaArtHistories World Conference and Director of the Archive of Digital Art.

Martin Honzik, artist, curator, and cultural manager. Currently, he serves as Curator for Artistic Projects at the Department of Culture of the State of Upper Austria and as Project Director of communale OÖ, and is Co-Curator and Program Coordinator of OÖ KulturExpo 2027. Previously, he was CEO of FestivalX in the UAE and Chief Curator and Co-Managing Director of Ars Electronica, overseeing the Ars Electronica Festival, Export, and Prix Ars Electronica.

Lev Manovich is a pioneering theorist of new media studies, software studies, cultural analytics, and AI aesthetics, who held a position of Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Manovich is the author of such influential books as 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, she has curated numerous landmark exhibitions that have helped shape the institutional presentation of digital art.

Previously, CIFRA opened its 2026 program with Ranbir Kaleka’s solo project “Between What We See and What We Know.” The exhibition was presented on the CIFRA platform and showcased works spanning more than three decades of the artist’s practice, bringing together different stages of Kaleka’s creative journey.