Interview with Rebekah Tolley on Digitalism
Digitalism at BRITISH ART FAIR, Saatchi Gallery, King's Rd, London SW3
25th-28th September 2025
The interview was conducted by Geoff Davis, 20th September 2025.
Rebekah Tolley
Rebekah Tolley talks about DIGITALISM at British Art Fair and her quantum-inspired artistic practice.
Part I: Digitalism
Was "PIVOTAL: Digitalism, at Saatchi Gallery, London 2024" a success? In what way, any notable events, talks etc?
Yes, it was a huge success. PIVOTAL: Digitalism was the first time in the 36-year history of British Art Fair that an entire section was dedicated to digital art — and the response was extraordinary. We had strong sales (including collectors buying digital works for the first time), and standout events, including the launch of Untold Garden's AR app MEADOW, which allowed visitors to interact with RCA graduate projects directly via their phones.
What did the traditional artists also exhibiting there think about digital art, any reactions? Did they see it as competition, not real art, etc?
The traditional artists I spoke to were overwhelmingly positive. Many told me they were surprised and inspired by the calibre of the digital works, and it sparked some fascinating cross-disciplinary conversations. Far from seeing it as competition, several expressed interest in exploring digital methods themselves. There will always be a degree of scepticism from some, but I think by situating DIGITALISM alongside modern and contemporary masters, the fair helped show that digital art is not peripheral but very much central to art today.
"DIGITALISM is a long overdue movement in art" – what happened with this concept or movement, any reactions from other artists etc?
Jeremy Kidd UTE MOUNTAIN LUNA STRIATE 1, 2023
The movement, 'digitalism', was borne out of a series of conversations with the advisory team I invited to join me in shaping what would become the inaugural show, PIVOTAL: Digitalism. They included luminaries in the field of digital art, such as Royal Designer for Industry, Peter Higgins, BIMA Digital Hall of Fame alumni and futurist, Tomas Roope (Honorary Royal Designer for Industry); award-winning artist and guest lecturer on the MA Digital Direction at the Royal College of Art, Lol Sargent RCA; London-based New Zealand artist Jacqui Kenny, previously co-founder of The Rumpus Room, and best known as 'The Agoraphobic Traveller'; multimedia technical manager, Tom Cullen, who has led on the installation of major works for Sir Isaac Julien, Bill Viola, Gillian Wearing, Steve McQueen, Sam Taylor Wood and Jane and Louise Wilson; artist and Creative Director, Office of Everyone, and tutor on the Digital Direction MA at the Royal College of Art, Jack Hardiker RCA.
Digitalism, as a term in itself, was actually coined by Lol Sargent, who previously referred to his RCA students as 'digitalists'. We decided to use the exhibition as the basis of "the birth of a movement," For decades, digital art has been described through shifting labels — from Electronic Arts to New Media to Multimedia — each tied more to technology than to cultural meaning. By consolidating these diverse practices under the term DIGITALISM, we could place them firmly in art history as a movement in their own right: one that, like Impressionism or Surrealism, reflects the urgency and imagination of its age, and establishes digital practice as central to how art is made, seen, and understood today.
"DBA: Digitalism, at British Art Fair 2025" - what is planned, are there talks, panels etc; how many artists, what and how are they displayed (screens, interactive, AR, VR, etc.)?
DIGITALISM 2025 will be even more ambitious. Two top-floor galleries at Saatchi Gallery will be dedicated to the show, with over 50 artists spanning photography, video, AR, VR, AI, generative, sculpture, robotics, and immersive works. Displays will range from large-scale screens and projections to interactive installations, with our partners, Muse Frame & Sedition, helping to integrate digital works into the gallery space seamlessly. Another one of our partners, SixtyFour Music, has crafted a music strategy and curated mix to complement the pioneering artworks on display. Visitors will be able to experience a musical journey designed to deepen how they connect with the exhibition through an added sensory layer.
Any comment on Christie's closing their Digital section?
Christie's decision highlights the volatility of the market, but it doesn't diminish the significance of digital art itself. In fact, I think it underscores the need for platforms like British Art Fair to take leadership in showing digital art not as a speculative trend, but as a vital and enduring force in contemporary culture. DIGITALISM is about grounding digital practice in art history and positioning it alongside established movements — not separate from them.
Part 2: Quantum Art and Future Directions
Your project – 'THE MAGICIAN TRILOGY' (2017-2021) … Any insights into working with or about quantum concepts, etc?
That trilogy (a collaborative project) explored entanglement, uncertainty, and collapse — using quantum concepts as metaphors for identity, surveillance, and generational experience. For me, working with quantum ideas is less about the hard science and more about the poetics of uncertainty and interconnectedness. It's about exploring how these invisible systems shape our perception of reality.
Are you doing any new work in this area?
Yes, I continue to investigate quantum poetics in the digital age.
Background
Rebekah Tolley is an award-winning filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist known as co-author of the critically acclaimed feature documentary 'We Went to War', with "one of the giants of British documentary filmmaking", Michael Grigsby. The film earned international recognition and was nominated for Sheffield DocFest's Innovation Award, with special screenings for BAFTA Cymru, ICA and MoMA New York.
She trained originally in photography, film, and visual arts, and completed her postgraduate at Coventry University in the early 2000s, on the oldest Electronic Arts course in Europe, (1987). Since then, she has worked across documentary feature film, photography, and digital art, with projects exhibited internationally. Her curatorial practice is deeply informed by her own art-making, which often draws on quantum concepts, identity, and systems of control, most notably through The Magician Trilogy (2017–2021).