Digital creation is no longer merely a “tool,” but a true artistic language, a space for experience, and a lever for transforming cultural institutions. In 2026, several practices are converging: AI, immersive technologies, data, sustainability and digital sovereignty as highlighted in Big média’s analysis of 2026 technology trends. How can we create, produce, distribute and engage differently in 2026?
In 2026, AI no longer simply generates content: it becomes a genuine creative partner. Artists, curators and designers co-create with AI, producing works that blend human creativity with algorithmic capabilities. Refik Anadol, for example, transforms archival data and cultural information into immersive installations in which AI shapes images and movement, always guided by a human artistic vision. In the same spirit, renowned filmmaker Darren Aronofsky founded Primordial Soup, a New York–based studio exploring generative AI as a driver of narrative and audiovisual innovation, in collaboration with Google DeepMind. Their first film, ANCESTRA, directed by Eliza McNitt, premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Eliza previously took part in HUB Montréal in 2024, where she shared her work and experience.
This trend is accompanied by a growing demand for transparency and explainability. Initiatives such as XAIxArts (Explainable AI for the Arts) bring together artists, researchers and designers to make algorithmic systems understandable and meaningfully integrated into artistic storytelling. Collaborative AI is reshaping creative processes and modes of collaboration between artists, studios and technologies, opening new forms of co-creation and enabling non-technical audiences to actively participate in creative production.
Several events offer opportunities to explore how AI is transforming artistic creation. E-AI will take place in Montréal on February 18–19, 2026, followed by the National Summit on AI and Culture in Banff on March 16–17, 2026, bringing together cultural stakeholders and experts to explore AI use cases and responsible innovation practices.
Today, immersive experiences are no longer experimental: they are becoming fully integrated into cultural, educational and territorial strategies. The shift is moving from spectacular one-off events toward permanent facilities capable of hosting exhibitions, performances and educational formats year-round.
North American models such as Meow Wolf have demonstrated that immersive venues can become permanent cultural destinations, with landmark works such as House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, conceived as a long-term visitor experience rather than a temporary exhibition. In Montréal, the Société des arts technologiques [SAT] illustrates this approach through its public research, which combines creation, production and training in immersive digital arts, while also operating the Satosphere, an audiovisual dome used for immersive works blending music, visuals and spatialized sound.
The challenge is now structural rather than purely technological: evolving content, personalized mediation, enhanced accessibility and new educational uses. Immersive experiences are becoming a sustainable tool for audience engagement, at the heart of tomorrow’s cultural models.
According to specialized media outlet TechTarget, a digital twin is a virtual replica of a real object or process, connected to data in order to observe, analyze or simulate its behavior. In the cultural sector, this approach enables the creation of responsive spaces and works that adapt to visitor flows, usage patterns or environmental conditions, offering adaptive scenography, enriched mediation and optimized management of buildings and collections.
Concrete initiatives illustrate this trend: Dpt. presented its Echo project at HUB Montréal 2025, creating digital twins of cultural spaces and reimagining how audiences explore, discover and interact with culture from intelligent museum guides to immersive virtual visits. In France, the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence is piloting a digital twin project for selected galleries and collections, offering immersive exploration while supporting new approaches to enhanced heritage conservation.
These projects show how data and digital models are becoming tools for making cultural spaces “alive,” opening the door to adaptive and interactive experiences. They also expand access for broader audiences, including those who are unable to visit in person.
The ecological transition also affects digital creation and the performing arts. Immersive installations, digital experiences and large-scale events with their projections, screens, servers and mass travel carry a significant environmental footprint. In response, studios, organizations and festivals are developing practices that reconcile creativity with eco-responsibility.
At HUB Montréal 2025, the Best Practices session “Eco-Responsibility and Creativity,” presented by Pixmob with examples notably drawn from MUTEK Montréal, explored these issues through concrete case studies, carbon-reduction strategies and practical levers for integrating sustainability into digital creation and major events. It demonstrated that artistic innovation and sustainable practices can move forward together.
These reflections are part of a broader movement driven by the ecosystem, exemplified by XN Québec’s recent initiative with the publication of its white paper “When Innovation Meets Sustainability.” This reference document provides an overview of the environmental impacts of creative digital practices and outlines concrete courses of action to support a more responsible transformation of the sector.
Beyond theoretical frameworks, studios and festivals are already experimenting with operational solutions: eco-design of installations, optimization of immersive touring models, the use of data centers powered by renewable energy, and the implementation of indicators to measure the environmental impact of digital projects.
A central question arises for the cultural sector: where are our works, audience data and immersive content hosted? The answer directly affects security, independence and how creations circulate.
At the 9th edition of HUB Montréal, Orio was presented as an example of a sovereign cloud designed for the creative industries, combining security, performance and eco-responsibility. Tools of this kind enable institutions and studios to better protect sensitive data, retain control over content distribution and explore new dissemination channels.
Digital sovereignty thus becomes a lever for ethical and independent cultural practices, while opening the way for more responsible and flexible distribution models.
In 2026, technology no longer simply supports creation: it now structures every stage of it. For the cultural sector, the challenge is no longer only to adopt new tools, but to rethink formats, narratives and relationships with audiences. Projects such as NEST: Colony, presented at Village Numérique 2025 in Montréal by the studio Iregular, which reacts to visitor movement using SONAR sound-localization technology, demonstrate how creations can now respond to individuals in real time, bringing art closer to a sensitive and personalized experience. Similarly, Le Coffre à jouets dégivré, a new interactive video projection designed by Ottomata and Doki and presented on the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink in Montréal until March 8, 2026, as part of Lumino, immerses audiences in playful and enchanting tableaux inspired by the games of our childhood. Digital creativity thus asserts itself as a field of artistic, social and political experimentation, at the heart of contemporary societal transformations.
HUB MONTRÉAL THANKS ITS 2025 EDITION PARTNERS
