Digital Art and the Transformation of Creative Industries: From Concept to Institutional Practice

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse the transformation of creative industries under the influence of digital art from a comparative perspective, based on five national cases: Ukraine, Austria, Indonesia, China, and Sweden. The methodological framework is grounded in comparative institutional analysis, the concept of creative industries, governance approaches in higher arts education, and platform capitalism theory. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the development of a comparative institutional DACI model (Digital Arts Creative Integration), which enables the analysis of digital transformation processes in creative industries across different national contexts. Conclusions. Digital art is a systemic factor in the restructuring of creative industries on a global scale, transforming not only the technological formats of cultural production and distribution, but also the fundamental categories of art discourse, including authorship, originality, value, and institutional identity. The comparative analysis of five national cases demonstrates the absence of a single universal model of institutional response: each model is shaped by a specific combination of cultural policy, educational traditions, and governance culture. At the same time, successful cases share common characteristics such as strategic vision, managerial flexibility, and openness to international partnership. The proposed DACI model serves as a practical tool for institutional diagnosis and strategic planning. Its four levels form an interdependent system in which weakness at any level constrains the development of the entire institution. The integration of generative AI into the educational process creates tension between institutional adaptation logic and artists’ legitimate concerns about the future of authorship in conditions of creative automation. Digital art is not a negation of cultural tradition. It is a new language that cultural institutions must learn to speak, while preserving their identity, defending artists’ rights, and ensuring that creators are not left alone with algorithms.