With 2025 just around the corner, I would like to highlight some key trends that are coming up. The art world is buzzing with fresh ideas that blend tradition with innovation, technology with humanity. Below are the top six key trends that are set to shape the art landscape over the next year.
The Collaboration of AI and Human
The creative industry has seen a major shift as AI continues to grow and evolve. This trend focuses on the collaboration between artists and AI in such a way to still reflect human emotions, ethics, and storytelling. When AI first became a thing, artists used it mainly for generating AI visuals. However, as AI evolved it became a co-creator, influencing concepts, mediums, and techniques. Many artists will take these prompts and add in that human element. This interaction between robots and humans seeks to question our relationship with technology.
AI-Painted Portrait Series: At first, any AI model generated poorly created human forms, but over time it has been trained. Today, an artist can collaborate with an AI that can generate a series of portraits. This can lead one to so many possibilities on how they can add in the human element to generative artwork.
Sustainable and Regenerative Art Practices
Every year we yearn for better sustainability in the world, so as 2025 approaches, artists are continually increasing their commitment to reusable practices. From eco-friendly (and preferably locally sourced) materials to exploring low-impact digital creation. Themes of climate change, resource conservation, and symbiosis are pervasive, as artists not only focus on environmental messages in their work but also take personal responsibility for reducing their carbon footprint. This sustainable trend includes an uptick in biomaterial art (Earth Art is a great example) as some artists will use biodegradable elements or live plants to create works.
Art Grown from Algae: I thought this technique was interesting and wanted to share it. Some artists are beginning to incorporate different algae to create works of art. Imagine this—A large installation where algae is thoughtfully arranged to create patterns of living, breathing pieces.
Eco-Friendly 3D Printing: Your first thought might be, how can 3D printing be eco-friendly? Today, there is a plethora of materials that can be printed such as plant-based resins or recycled plastics. These sculptures could be designed to naturally decompose over time, thus embodying themes of impermanence and environmental impact.
Revival of Handcrafted and Analog Techniques
Even though we are living in a digital-heavy era, traditional techniques (like hand-weaving, pottery, embroidery, and printmaking) are experiencing a resurgence. Artists are revisiting these methods, blending analog with digital or even reinterpreting the mediums in innovative ways. This revival reflects a desire to slow down and be more mindful during the creation process which is often lost in the rush of digital creations.
Contemporary Embroidery: Embroidery is an art technique that can date back centuries. Today, artists are modernizing it by embroidering modern images onto unconventional canvases, such as plastic waste or repurposed textiles.
Not so Digital Analog Photography: Analog photography has made a comeback for some portrait and street photographers. The unpredictable, tactile quality of using 35mm or wet-plate can create a depth one loses in today’s often flawless digital imagery.
Interactive and Immersive Installations
Interactive installation art is something that can be hard to find unless you really seek it out. There is an upcoming wave in 2025 in which artists are wanting to create an experience that is just as important as the overall aesthetics. Installations that involve viewers as participants are in high demand, with immersive environments that blend elements like sound, touch, and even smell to deepen engagement. The rise of virtual and augmented reality in art allows viewers to enter entirely new worlds, interacting with art in ways that traditional media cannot offer. Immersive art spaces are particularly popular with audiences looking for active, rather than passive, engagement.
Sensory Forest Installation: A fully immersive indoor “forest” is a great example of interactive installation. It could become something that sparks all 5 senses as the artist could incorporate scents, mists, and soundscapes of wildlife. Also, sensors in the exhibit could track visitor movement, causing lighting, sounds, and even simulated weather to shift dynamically, making each visit unique.
VR-Driven Historical Exhibits: Another example is the use of virtual reality (VR) for exhibitions. Museums and/ or galleries could work with specialized artists to create a digital space where visitors can virtually explore historical events, landmarks, ancient cities, or even follow along in a digital tour—any of these options provide an opportunity to learn through immersion.
Digital Identity and the Self in the Virtual Age
The concept of digital identity has been a recurring theme, but in 2025, it will take on a new layer of complexity with the advent of the metaverse and virtual spaces. Artists are increasingly exploring themes related to self-perception, virtual avatars, and identity fragmentation as people spend more time in online spaces. A great example of this (although started all the way back to at least 2021) is fashion brands creating virtual clothes for digital avatars. A few brands are: The Fabricant, Auroboros, Nike, Carlings, Burberry, and Puma. This trend often manifests in self-portraits, multimedia installations, and performances that use digital tools to explore the notion of the “virtual self” and questions how much of it is authentic.
Avatar Self-Portrait Series: Digital artists might create self-portraits in virtual worlds, using avatars that adapt and change based on their real-life emotions, biometric data, or even audience input. These “dynamic portraits” could challenge the notion of a static self and reflect the fluidity of identity in digital spaces.
Performance Art with Augmented Reality: A performance artist might use AR overlays to alter their appearance during a live-streamed show, projecting different personas or digitally altering their features. This approach could explore the divide between online presentation and real-world authenticity.
Cultural Fusion and Decolonial Narratives
The art of 2025 is marked by a renewed exploration of cultural fusion, decolonial narratives, and the reassertion of Indigenous voices. Although not necessarily new, artists are still wanting to reclaim traditional symbols, folklore, and visual languages that are slowly getting lost with time. They are weaving these (not literally) ideas into contemporary artworks in a way that respects and uplifts the cultural heritage. Globalization and cross-cultural exchange inspire works that reflect the diversity and interconnectedness of the modern world, celebrating underrepresented perspectives while also challenging stereotypes.
Reinterpreted Folktales with Augmented Reality: Artists could bring Indigenous folktales or mythologies to life using AR, allowing audiences to view traditional stories from different angles or gain insight into cultural symbols. This blending of oral storytelling with modern tech could deepen understanding while promoting cultural preservation.
Collaborative Mural Projects: Murals created by artists from diverse backgrounds could fuse symbolic motifs from their heritage with contemporary visual language, addressing topics like migration, identity, and history. All the while, showing humans in a more realistic way. This trend could take form in large, city-wide public art projects where each mural connects to a broader cultural narrative as well.
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