GIANT SIGNALS

Disiva presents 43 international artistic practices across the monumental digital screens of Times Square

5 TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK CITY | SEPTEMBER 25–27, 2026

From September 25 to 27, 2026, during The Armory Show week, Disiva presents GIANT SIGNALS, an exhibition project conceived for the monumental LED screens of 5 Times Square, New York City.

Live daily from 6:30 PM local time, the exhibition brings together 44 international artistic practices working across digital art, moving image, artificial intelligence, generative systems, photography, architecture and expanded media.

The exhibition is articulated through three complementary modes of participation: 30 practices selected by an international Curatorial Committee, 10 selected through Social Engagement, and 4 artists invited directly by Disiva: Angela Nikolau, Ariadna Canaan, Susi Sie and Abraham Yael.

This structure brings together independent curatorial assessment, public participation and Disiva’s own curatorial research, reflecting different approaches, generations and contexts within contemporary artistic production.

Conceived specifically in relation to the scale and visual conditions of Times Square, GIANT SIGNALS examines the digital screen as a contemporary exhibition infrastructure and the urban environment as a space for cultural encounter.

Rather than reproducing the conventions of the gallery within a public setting, the project considers how contemporary artistic practices can engage with architecture, technology, circulation and collective attention.

AN INTERNATIONAL SELECTION

The participating practices reflect different generations, geographies and approaches to contemporary image-making. Their trajectories intersect with major international institutions and cultural platforms including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, ZKM, Ars Electronica, Louvre Museum, Whitechapel Gallery, Manifesta and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Among the practices selected by the Curatorial Committee, Brendan Dawes has participated in three exhibitions at MoMA, where Cinema Redux entered the permanent collection in 2008. His generative film Eno, developed with filmmaker Gary Hustwit, premiered at Sundance in 2024.

Daan Roosegaarde has developed an internationally recognised practice at the intersection of art, technology and environmental research, with presentations at Tate Modern, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Design Museum London. CompMonks has presented work at Centre Pompidou, ZKM and Ars Electronica, while Matthew Attard represented Malta at the 60th Venice Biennale.

The selection also includes Memo Akten & Katie Hofstadter, whose collaborative research addresses artificial intelligence, consciousness and embodiment. Akten, a recipient of the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, has presented work internationally, including at the Venice Biennale.

Grzegorz Stefański has exhibited and screened work at the Louvre Museum, Whitechapel Gallery, HKW Berlin, the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and Manifesta 11. Hamill Industries have presented projects within contexts including Ars Electronica, Sónar Festival, CCCB and Barbican, while works by Beatrice Pediconi are held in collections including the Parrish Art Museum, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, MACRO and Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea.

These trajectories coexist within GIANT SIGNALS with emerging and interdisciplinary positions, establishing a dialogue between different forms of artistic research and the evolving languages of contemporary visual culture.

30 CURATORIAL COMMITTEE SELECTED PRACTICES

Analogmirage, Andreas Lutz, Beatrice Pediconi, Brendan Dawes, Carlos Navarro, Clemens Maurer, CompMonks, Daan Roosegaarde, Dajana Krueger, Debora Hirsch, Frederik De Wilde, Grzegorz Stefański, Haley Tippmann, Hamill Industries, Jake Elwes, Jess Tucker, Karen Shiozawa, Kelsey Paschich (Micah Alhadeff, Madrone Matysiak), Kosuke Ajiro, Laura Rautjoki, Louis-Paul Caron, Luke Penry, Matteo Basilé, Matthew Attard, Memo Akten & Katie Hofstadter, O Future, Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell, Sıla Şehrazat Yücel, Sophie Cunningham, Studio Above&Below (Daria Jelonek & Perry-James Sugden).

In addition to the 30 practices selected by the Curatorial Committee, 10 further artists participate through the Social Engagement selection.

4 additional artists — Angela Nikolau, Ariadna Canaan, Susi Sie and Abraham Yael — have been invited directly by Disiva, extending the exhibition through practices identified in relation to the organisation’s ongoing curatorial research.

Social Engagement Selection

Alireza Moravej, Blackwblonde & Mr_Jones, Darya Dovbenko, David Preissel, Fatbeard, Hiddengemplay, JU, Max Hudson, Mirko Yoshikata, Pilyeon.

Together, these three strands form the complete artistic framework of GIANT SIGNALS.

CURATORIAL COMMITTEE

The curatorial selection was undertaken by an international Curatorial Committee comprising Auronda Scalera & Dr. Alfredo Cramerotti, Massimiliano Lorenzelli, Dante Yun, Kate Vass, Myriam Achard, Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, Maria Paola Borgarino and Marco Pittarello.

Bringing together expertise across contemporary art, new media, institutional practice, galleries and cultural publishing, the Committee considered the applications in relation to artistic research, conceptual and visual quality, innovation, coherence of practice and the capacity of each work to engage with the specific conditions of the urban digital screen.

ART, TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC SPACE

GIANT SIGNALS forms part of Disiva’s ongoing research into the relationship between contemporary artistic practice, technological infrastructure and public space.

Disiva develops exhibition formats that extend artistic presentation beyond conventional cultural venues, examining how existing infrastructures of communication can also operate as spaces for contemporary culture.

Within this approach, the monumental screen is understood not solely as a medium for visibility, but as an architectural and communicative element of the contemporary city.

Times Square offers a particularly significant context for this investigation. Defined by an exceptional concentration of digital images, information and commercial communication, its visual architecture has become emblematic of contemporary visual culture.

By introducing artistic research into this environment, GIANT SIGNALS creates a temporary shift in its visual function, allowing the digital screen to operate as a site of cultural presentation and public encounter.

The project reflects Disiva’s broader commitment to developing new contexts for contemporary art, connecting artists, technological media and international audiences while maintaining a focus on curatorial research and the evolving conditions through which art is experienced today.

CreAtIva AI ART BOOK will be a partner of the GIANT SIGNALS and will present its artists, offering an international perspective on Generative AI through articles, interviews, and the work of leading digital artists.

GIANT SIGNALS — NEW YORK 2026

Location: 5 Times Square, New York City
Dates: September 25–27, 2026
Daily program: From 6:30 - 6:50 PM, New York local time
Context: The Armory Show Week
Format: Contemporary art exhibition on monumental LED screens
Participating Practices: 44
Curatorial Committee Selection: 30 practices
Social Engagement Selection: 10 practices
Organization: Disiva | Art Innovation Srl