Art Basel talk with Emi Kusano
Art Basel Hong Kong is hosting a free panel called “Who builds the canon? Infrastructure, authorship, and digital culture,” with Emi Kusano on the roster — a sharp intersection of digital practice and curatorial debate worth bookmarking for fair coverage. The talk signals continued interest in tech‑native artists shaping contemporary canons. (x.com) (x.com)
The conversation is scheduled for March 28 as part of Art Basel Hong Kong’s public-program lineup during the fair’s March 27–29 run. (artbasel.com/events/detail/102052/Conversations-Who-builds-the-canon-Infrastructure-authorship-and-digital-culture/68452). The session is presented inside Art Basel’s newly launched Zero 10 strand, a curated digital-art initiative that debuted in Miami Beach and is being rolled out to select fairs in 2026. (artbasel.com/stories/art-basel-launches-zero-10--a-new-initiative-for-art-of-the-digital-era). Emi Kusano is also showing a new installation titled “Ornament Survival” with √K Contemporary in Zero 10 (Booth Z10) during Art Basel Hong Kong, on view March 27–29. (root-k.jp/news_en/art-basel-hong-kong-2026-zero10/). Program materials describe “Ornament Survival” as a multi-part installation (sculpture, video, photography) built around a monumental “magical compact” motif and a photographic series exploring the word “model.” (files.ocula.com/temp/2f392248-528b-48d0-958c-a2319dd277da/file.pdf). Documentation from Kusano’s project notes that she trained a custom AI model on images of her own face and body to generate the work’s cloned figures, a process framed by the artist as a critique of reproducibility and emotional labour in algorithmic systems. (files.ocula.com/temp/2f392248-528b-48d0-958c-a2319dd277da/file.pdf). Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 will convene about 240 galleries from 41 countries across the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre while placing Zero 10 centrally within its public and commercial programming. (artasiapacific.com/news/art-basel-hong-kong-announces-2026-highlights/).
