Abstract

This presentation explores emerging forms of spirituality within the contemporary digital landscape, through the lens of techno-spirituality. In an era marked by the dematerialization of experience and the proliferation of immersive environments, we are witnessing a reformulation of the sacred and the sublime, articulated through artistic practices, audiovisual languages, and immersive technologies (VR/AR). 

Phenomena such as glitches, algorithmic randomness, and digital oracularity are examined as aesthetic and cognitive devices that reactivate archaic dynamics of access to the transcendent, redefining the very notion of a "constructed" spirituality. The analysis focuses particularly on how contemporary art—from video art to immersive light- and sound-based environments—has progressively shaped a non-confessional but experiential imaginary of the sacred, grounded in perception, architectural space, and sensory engagement. 

Through a critical and interdisciplinary approach, this intervention reflects on how the contemporary subject continues to develop symbolic and ritual structures to navigate the technological present, confirming the persistent human drive toward transcendence—even within the languages and devices of digitality. 

 About the speaker

 Natalie Zangari is a PhD candidate in Visual Arts and Technological Humanism at the Santa Giulia Academy of Fine Arts in Brescia, and an independent curator. Since 2021, she has collaborated with BELLE ARTI, an association directed by Massimo Minini, focusing on curatorial work, cultural project design, and the development of artistic initiatives. For the past two years, she has served as gallery manager at A+B Gallery in Brescia and, since 2023, as curator of the Andrea Boghi Collection. Her doctoral research investigates techno-spirituality and the contemporary reconfigurations of the sacred in digital culture, exploring how immersive environments, glitch aesthetics, and algorithmic randomness open new spaces for transcendence in art and experience. More broadly, her work explores the ritual, technological, and social dimensions of art, with a particular interest in emerging artists and in inclusive, community-based practices. In parallel, she is actively involved in designing educational workshops in libraries and museums located in areas of severe educational deprivation, experimenting with new approaches to art accessibility and engagement. 

The video recording of the event will be available on our YouTube channel Spirituality and the Arts Special Interest Group 

Join our  Facebook Group called Spirituality and the Arts using this link. 

For more details, see https://spiritualitystudiesnetwork.org/Spirituality-and-the-Arts-SIG

The SIG Chairs: the Rev. Prof. June Boyce-Tillman, Dr Lila Moore, Annalisa Burello.