Artists, curators, and friends from the worlds of fashion and art came together on January 22 to celebrate Art21’s new IRL/url series, presented by CHANEL Culture Fund and produced by Art21. The organization’s inaugural social-first documentary series highlights the practices of eight artists who work across our physical and digital worlds.
Yana Peel, President of Arts, Culture & Heritage at CHANEL, welcomed guests into the Roxy Cinema in lower Manhattan and spoke about the profoundly human nature of the film series. While the series has reached tens of millions of viewers globally, Peel affirmed the true measure of impact for the series, “that we must move from justification by metrics to a focus on valuing the beauty of process.”
“Because of where we are with tech at the start of 2026, especially when it comes to AI and how quickly it’s advancing, speed was of the essence while making IRL/url,” said Tina Kukielski, Susan Sollins Executive Director and Chief Curator of Art21, in her remarks. “We think we captured something of the ethos of what artists are wrestling with today when it comes to these increasingly blended but troubled worlds of ‘IRL’ and ‘url’.”
The eight artists featured in the series, five of whom are making their Art21 debut in these films, represent a vanguard of artists working in this hybridized landscape: Neïl Beloufa, Jacky Connolly, Julien Creuzet, Sara Cwynar, Ho Tzu Nyen, Xin Liu, Rachel Rossin, and Jacolby Satterwhite.
Kukielski moderated a panel that included screenings of the films interspersed throughout, inviting the artists into conversation according to thematic affinity.
In their work, Sara Cwynar and Xin Liu both contend with personal data sets, whether that’s the entire contents of Cwynar’s hard drive or Liu’s genetic code, both asking questions about scale, self-knowledge, and ownership. Liu said, “If I create something, I do want to feel like my work is honored, but at the same time, every piece I created, it’s because I watched [so much] on the internet.”
Neïl Beloufa, Julien Creuzet, and Rachel Rossin each highlight the transformative role technology plays in society through their practices, exploring how digital tools have the power to shape identity, social relations, and reality. Creuzet shared that “we can use new technology…for a certain archaeology of identity.”
In their respective films, Jacky Connolly and Jacolby Satterwhite address social isolation and social disintegration as a result of technology while simultaneously finding pathways to connection and healing through technology. Kukielski acknowledged Satterwhite’s recent health struggles, and together they discussed his experience sharing this deeply personal part of his life online. Anyone who wishes to contribute to Satterwhite’s recovery fund is encouraged to do so here.
After the event, departing guests and passersby alike got the unique chance to see the IRL/url films projected on a nearby building in the heart of Tribeca. That projection, along with others throughout the city over the past two months, brought the “url” series to “IRL” pedestrians.
The complete IRL/url series is available to watch on art21.org/irlurl.
