Speaking

Talks on digital art, neuroaesthetics, and the technology reshaping how we see — for audiences from museum members to boardrooms.

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Digital Art 101: The History of Digital Art

Sixty years before AI art trended, artists were already making work with machines. This talk traces the real history — from the first computer drawings to blockchain provenance to today’s generative systems — and gives any audience the framework to see digital art as art history, not novelty.

Premiered at the Kansas City Artists Coalition, July 2026. Formats: keynote, public program, guest lecture.

Why Screens Move Us: The Neuroaesthetics of Digital Art

Why Screens Move Us: The Neuroaesthetics of Digital Art

Why Screens Move Us: The Neuroaesthetics of Digital Art

Your brain doesn’t know the difference between looking and feeling. Drawing on the science of neuroaesthetics, this talk explores what screen-based art does to perception — motion, light, attention — and why the medium moves audiences in ways static work can’t.

Formats: museum program, design & architecture audiences, conference keynote.

Collecting Digital Art: Provenance, Custody, and Value

Collecting Digital Art: Provenance, Custody, and Value

Digital art is the youngest asset class on the wall — and the least understood. A plain-language briefing on how digital works are authenticated, bought, stored, displayed, and passed on: what smart collectors ask before acquiring, and what their advisors should know.

Formats: collector groups, wealth & estate professionals, executive briefing.

The Artist and the Machine: AI, Authorship, and What Comes Next

The Artist and the Machine: AI, Authorship, and What Comes Next

Every generation swears the machine will kill the artist; every generation is wrong in an interesting way. An honest, hype-free look at AI’s real effect on artmaking — authorship, labor, value — from someone who works with both the artists and the tools.

Formats: conference keynote, corporate event, university lecture.

Formats

Keynotes & conference talks · Museum & library public programs · University guest lectures & critiques · Collector and executive briefings · Panel moderation & participation · Workshops

Speaker bio

Mary McCawley is the Midwest’s leading curator and advisor for digital art. Founder of Digital Dreams, Kansas City’s first digital art gallery, and curator of the Screen // Seen exhibition series, she has produced sold-out immersive programs, advised collectors and institutions, and led artist relations for a global digital art platform.

Mary McCawley is the Midwest’s leading curator and advisor for digital art. Founder of Digital Dreams, Kansas City’s first digital art gallery, she has produced sold-out immersive programs, advised collectors and institutions, and led artist relations for a global digital art platform.

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Appearances

Upcoming
Digital Art 101 — Kansas City Artists Coalition · July 23, 2026

Past
Screen // Seen opening programming — KCAC · July 2026
Speaker programming & panels — Miami Digital Art Fair, Miami Art Week
[InterUrban ArtHouse — confirm title/date]
Fridays on Foundation — recurring live audio program on digital art & collecting

(After July 23: add 2–3 photos and a 60–90 second video clip here — the single strongest asset a speaking page can carry.)

Upcoming
Digital Art 101 — Kansas City Artists Coalition · July 23, 2026


Availability

Fees vary by format, audience, and travel — I’ll reply within two business days.

Fees vary by format, audience, and travel.

I’ll reply within two business days.

Every talk ends the same way: with people seeing screens differently.

Check my availability