Rebecca Ruige Xu currently teaches computer art and animation at Syracuse University. Her artwork and research interests include experimental animation, visual music, artistic data visualization, interactive installations, digital performance, and virtual reality. Her recent work has been shown at: ISEA; Ars Electronica; SIGGRAPH Art Gallery; IEEE VIS Arts Program, Museum of Contemporary Art, Italy; Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, USA; FILE– Electronic Language International Festival, Brazil; International Digital Art Exhibition, China; Boston Cyberarts Festival, USA. Xu is the co-founder of the ChinaVIS Arts Program, Co-Chair of the IEEE VIS 2023 and 2024 Arts Program, and currently serves as Chair of the ACM SIGGRAPH Digital Arts Committee.

Victoria Szabo is a Research Professor of Visual and Media Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at Duke University. She also directs the Information Science + Studies Program and the PhD in Computational Media, Arts & Cultures. She has a PhD in Victorian Literature and Culture and works in digital humanities and media art, with an emphasis on location-based urban histories, multimodal cultural heritage, and digital storytelling. Before moving to Duke, she worked in Academic Technology at Stanford University. She is also part of the Psychasthenia Studio Art collaborative and the international Visualizing Cities consortium. She has been involved in a variety of SIGGRAPH Art-related roles, including SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Chair, Art Papers Chair, Art Papers Chair for SIGGRAPH Asia, Chair of the Year-Round Digital Arts Community for the Org, and is the current Chair of the Arts Advisory Group. She is also part of the SIGGRAPH Governance Committee. Victoria is the Art Papers Chair for SIGGRAPH 2025.

Francesca Franco is a Venetian-born curator, art historian and producer based in the UK and Italy. She is Visiting Professor at Danube University Krems, where she teaches Media Art and Curatorial Practice. From 2019 to 2023, she was Co-Investigator on the AHRC-funded project “Documenting digital art: re-thinking histories and practices of documentation in the museum and beyond” at the University of Exeter. In 2022 she produced and curated “Vera Molnár: Icône 2020”, an exhibition centred on a new commission, “Icône 2020′′, at the 59th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia. In 2017, she was curator-in-residence at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Venice, where she curated “Algorithmic Signs”, an exhibition that explored the history of pioneering generative art. The central theme of Francesca’s research is the history of art and technology and the pioneers of computer art. A major focus has been the history of the Venice Biennale culminating in a series of publications that have been translated into various languages. Her first solo-authored book, “Generative Systems Art”, was published by Routledge in 2018. Her second monograph, “The Algorithmic Dimension”, was published by Springer in 2022. Her forthcoming book on the history of computer art at the Venice Biennale will be published by Springer in 2024. Her current exhibition, “Vera Molnár: Variazioni Icône”, is on view through March 2024 at the Accademia d’Ungheria in Rome. Francesca is the Art Gallery Chair for SIGGRAPH 2025.

Miriam Esquitín is an arts and non-profit leader based in Vancouver, Canada, with a strong focus on community building and social justice. Originally from Mexico, Esquitín’s career has focused on fostering inclusivity, innovation, and resilience.

Currently, as Executive Director of the Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF), Miriam leads an organization that transforms urban spaces by connecting thousands of people through public art. VMF’s projects exemplifies how public art can transform physical urban environments into cultural landscapes, with layers that speak to diverse communities.

Over the years, VMF has increasingly incorporated digital and immersive technologies in their public art programming. The Winter Arts Festival, for example, has focused on virtual and augmented reality experiences that expand the traditional boundaries of art, integrating digital layers onto public spaces. This bridges physical reality with virtual constructs, creating dynamic, interactive experiences that reimagine how people engage with urban environments.

Equity, reconciliation, sustainability, and artistic excellence are instrumental to the work of VMF. The organization has collaborated with dozens of Indigenous artists, aiming to affirm the resurgence and importance of Coast Salish culture, directly combatting the systemic suppression of Indigenous visual art. Furthermore, over 60% of all artists engaged by VMF have been from equity-deserving communities.

Miriam is also the Co-founder of Polymer Dance, a unique community-based improvisation ensemble that embodies the belief that “Dance is for Everybody and Dance is for Everywhere.” Since 2012, she has developed collaborative improvisational methods that decentralize the creative process in instantaneous compositions. Polymer Dance is part of a movement to democratize the arts, creating accessible opportunities for people to engage with dance regardless of their backgrounds or training.

With a BA and MA in Social Anthropology, Miriam approaches her work from a perspective that honors the cultural history of the places she inhabits.