Before Art Basel Miami Beach, Eli Scheinman On Where Digital Art Goes Next

Art Basel will debut Zero 10 at Miami Beach on December 5, a curated platform for art of the digital era. In advance of the launch, Senior Advisor and Zero 10 curator Eli Scheinman discussed the state of digital art and where it is heading in an interview with Cryptonews.com.

Scheinman described his remit across artists, galleries, and collectors, and within Art Basel’s internal teams. He stated that the goal is to build a space that changes how visitors think about digital practice through works that are conceived digitally and expressed across multiple formats.

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After The NFT Bubble: A Calmer Market Takes Shape

The NFT frenzy of 2021–2022 has faded, and the market looks more selective after months of a bearish market. Scheinman called the current phase a “post hype maturation,” where easy flipping is gone, and buyers focus on projects with sound craft, strong concepts, and credible use of on-chain tools.

That shift places pressure on artists to refine technique and intent. It also asks more of collectors. “Those who remain in this digital art ecosystem are as thoughtful and as sort of long-term minded as ever,” Scheinman said. With that combination, he added, quality is rising across new works and series.

Display and experience remain practical hurdles. Collectors still wrestle with how to show digital pieces at home or in offices, and how to surface the social networks that often surround on-chain collections.

Scheinman framed this as a “principal challenge today” and a near-term area for experimentation in both physical and online settings.

Where Digital Art Goes Next

Scheinman sees digital practice moving from niche to routine, pointing to the spread of digital tools across daily life and the growing role of crypto rails in payments and ownership.

As those rails improve and friction drops, the mental model of acquiring wholly digital works with crypto should feel natural to a wider base of buyers.

He identified four collector cohorts that Zero 10 hopes to engage: Existing digital art collectors who may not yet be close to Art Basel; Traditional Art Basel patrons who carry dated assumptions about crypto or digital work; Younger fair visitors who come to explore and respond to interactive installations; Crypto-native participants who have not yet crossed into collecting art on Ethereum, Bitcoin, or other chains.

This mix suggests a path for audience growth that does not rely on a single hype cycle. It instead leans on better exhibitions, clearer ownership experiences, and consistent curatorial standards that reward depth over impulse.

Art Basel’s Zero 10: Curating The Field

Zero 10 will present works from artists and galleries whose practices are rooted in digital creation, then expressed through screens, prints, sculpture, robotics, and interactive projects.

“When you take them together, [they] will fundamentally reconstruct the way that an attendee… thinks about digital art,” Scheinman said.

Eli Scheinman, Zero 10 Curator (Source: Courtesy of Art Basel)

According to him, large-format displays will sit alongside painting, 3D printed objects, and installations that require on-site participation. The goal is to give visitors, including newcomers, a direct encounter with process and concept rather than a narrow view of screens alone.

Scheinman stressed stewardship, saying, “I take my commitment and my responsibility to the digital art ecosystem very seriously.” Success, in his view, would mean a presentation that is sincere to artists, galleries, and collectors, and memorable for first-time visitors who step into the field on Miami Beach.

That approach mirrors the market’s next phase. Less noise, more craft, clearer contexts for ownership and display. Zero 10 sets out to stage that shift on a major fair floor, and to test how far thoughtful curation can move the conversation.