The ninth edition of Transformation Digital Art, LI-MA's annual international symposium on digital art preservation, successfully took place on 20 and 21 March 2025 at LAB111 in Amsterdam. Over two immersive days, over 170 participants of all backgrounds and ages – including artists, scholars, curators, and experts in media art conservation and digital preservation – from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and more – engaged in discussions and workshops on the evolving nature of media art and performance preservation.

This year's edition focused on the dynamic relationship between media art and performance, exploring their live, ephemeral, and generative qualities. Key topics included the challenges of preserving live artworks, the intersections of coding, performance, and robotics, and the evolving documentation and exhibition practices.  

Engaging Conversations and Hands-On Sessions
Louise Lawson (Tate) and Erin Brannigan (University of New South Wales) explored the intersection of dance, media art, and conservation, Susanne Kensche (Conservator of modern art, Kröller-Müller Museum) and Marijn Geist (Junior curator, Kröller-Müller Museum) – revisited Ton Bruynèl's Kubusproject (1969–1971) an interactive installation that unifies sound and sculptural elements. 

Dragan Espenschied (Preservation Director, Rhizome) explored how metaphors shape digital preservation in his keynote Performance and Symbol Manipulation. He also addressed the fragility of both the artworks and the ecosystem of institutions, structures, and communities. Artist and researcher Naoto Hieda presented the fleeting traces of live performances – digital afterimages and physical imprints – as part of a living archive.

The symposium also delved into new archival approaches, highlighting the potential of Wikis in media art documentation by Bert Lemmens (art historian and digital collections expert) and Susanna Ånäs (AvoinGLAM / Open Knowledge Finland). Kaat Somers (FOMU) discussed the challenges of archiving and documenting media art when lacking the specific expertise. Artist Rosa Menkman talked about the complications of documentation and the role of artists within the archival process.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Digital Art Preservation 

Transformation Digital Art 2025 highlighted visibility and access to groundbreaking artistic practices and connected them with ever new, current meanings for artists, institutions and social and political matters of today. Showing artworks using GPS and live coding or Amigas and AI. And communicated what knowledge and practice are needed to be able to show these works in and beyond 2025. In this way, we show what the importance is and what is needed to be able to show and understand these technical artworks and practices in the future, and what key role LI-MA plays in the field. The 2026 edition will be following this line but also we consider a new approach. 

As the digital art landscape continues to evolve, Transformation Digital Art 2025 reaffirmed the vital role of cross-disciplinary and institutional collaboration in safeguarding the longevity of digital and performative artworks. LI-MA remains committed to strengthening the (inter)national infrastructure for media art, with ongoing initiatives such as ArcaiArt , a collaborative research project between LI-MA and the University of Nottingham and Exeter, and Connecting Media Art , which aims to transform the fragmented digital art landscape into a more accessible and interconnected ecosystem. Both will be presented at Transformation Digital Art 2026.

This event was made possible with the generous support of Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK).