Digital art and the belt and road initiative: opportunities, challenges and perspectives

Abstract

Digital art, following the technology used to produce, store, display and trade it, is highly dynamic and offers digital artists seemingly limitless creative possibilities. China is today the biggest importer and exporter of creative goods and services and has established as one of its policy principles the internationalization of its cultural industry and international cooperation. This article explores the transformative potential of digital art in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative and the potential challenges that emerge from the legal perspective. Its main findings are that digital art can play a significant role in helping to develop the Belt and Road Initiative, especially in fostering cultural interaction and exchanges between the people of the participating countries, thus expanding the reach of the initiative beyond the inter-governmental level. However, a significant challenge is presented by the different approaches different governments may have towards (digital) art and related technologies. The article also reiterates the existence of legal challenges, for example, in intellectual property protection, data protection and anti-money laundering, which must be addressed, preferentially in a coordinated fashion not only between the countries within the BRI but globally.