The festival sought to develop a language allowing its visitor to imagine the basis of the emerging, digital world; to examine creative, artistic, experiential tools; and to research the history of the future.

The Festival started in 2019 and stemmed from the cooperation between the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, and artistic directors Yair Moss and Danielle Zini.

Since 2019, however, the digital art world has shifted, and in no small means due to the coronavirus with greater global awareness. The pandemic pushed everyone to spend much more time within digital worlds, connecting virtually for work, learning, experiencing, and socializing.  

Museums and cultural institutions went online causing digital art to have a much more significant place. At the very same time, the growing development of AI as well as Blockchain Technologies - Digital Currencies, NFTs, DAO’s, has given digital art the ability to produce original copies and opened new markets which, up until now didn’t exist boosting digital art’s value.  

ZER0|1NEin 2021 aimed to examine the place of these technologies and applications and their disruption creating a cultural revolution under our feet.  An introduction to these technologies and applications opened the Festival, with Dr. Milly Perry together with Yair Moss in Hebrew and on Zoom discussing how they fit together creating a new cultural revolution.

“Our perspective towards this new digital space draws greatly on ideas from older intelligent systems and ideas. We fuse the two together to create new concepts relating to the present and the future.  Examination of these new technologies while taking inspiration from past cultures and ideas, enables the formulation of contemporary creative expressions. I think this idea is synchronous with the core concept of the Tower of David Museum, looking at the past and thinking about the future," explained Zini.

On Wednesday night after a rain delay, Hansen House was the Festival venue, for live visual displays and hybrid discussions. Hansen House was the former Jerusalem leper hospital and BJL found it interesting how the open courtyard and design features are consistent with current corona restrictions. 

Deputy Director, Tower of David Museum Tamar Berliner, stated about the current festival, "The Tower of David presents layer upon layer of Jerusalem's rich and colorful history. Over the past decade, the museum has opened its doors allowing the site to showcase new and interesting interpretations of Jerusalem and innovative technologies that allow the visitor to meet Jerusalem in many different ways. Six years ago, the Tower of David Museum ventured into the world of AR and VR technologies and opened an innovation lab that would harness this energy and enhance the visitor experience. Today, as our lives are hybrid, touched by technologies that we look to understand better, the Tower of David Museum is proud to once again give a platform to our contemporary cultural world that is being changed and shaped by new technologies and applications - whose complexities only mirror the complexities of the city which the museum explores."

On Thursday night the Tower of David Kishle was the scene of the live event. 

“Slowly we are beginning to see the community of digital artists blossoming in Israel, and we are excited to give a platform and place to those artists. We hope to grow from year to year and to expand the stage for other artists, and more original productions, while deepening the connection between the creative world and the technological world here in Israel” said Zini.

The photo essay includes scenes from the festival's digital displays and also includes two images from the regular exhibit of the Hansen Hospital's old medical equipment, the very old, and the future coming together.