Michele Rinaldi (Foggia, 2000) is an artist and researcher working in the field of digital arts and new media, based in Rome. His practice explores the relationships between humans, nature, and technology, focusing on ecological processes that are often invisible or difficult to perceive, such as CO2 emissions, glacier degradation, and climate-driven transformations of territories. Interactive installations, generative systems, and video works that intertwine archival material and the present coexist within a research practice aimed at reflecting on the concepts of persistence and loss: the loss of an ecosystem, an identity, or information. In this context, technology becomes a tool for making such phenomena visible, tangible, and, at times, inhabitable.

After graduating with top marks in Figurative Arts from the “Sacro Cuore” Art High School in Cerignola, he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in New Technologies of Art from the Academies of Fine Arts of Foggia and Rome, respectively, both with honors. He is currently a PhD candidate in Innovation, Technologies and New Materials for Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples and, since 2026, a Visiting PhD Student at Hochschule Wismar – University of Applied Sciences, Technology, Business and Design (Germany), where he is developing the research project Art and Ecological Awareness of AI: An Investigation into Artistic Experiences and Their Behavioral Effects, under the supervision of Prof. Tom Hanke.

His artistic research has been presented in national and international contexts, including The Wrong Biennale in Copenhagen, Video Art Miden in Kalamata (Greece), Global Fusion in Mexico City, and Data/Humans in Bahrain. In Italy, he has participated, among others, in Narrazioni algoritmiche, an international exhibition of generative video art held as part of the third edition of SENSEABLE – Symposium on Electronic Arts in Reggio Calabria; Casa Sempre Aperta in Catanzaro; Future Vibes in Catania; and AI WEEK in Milan. In 2025, he received an Honorable Mention at the conference Umanesimo Tecnologico: Rappresentare mondi possibili, was selected as a finalist for the “Giuseppe Casciaro” Prize, and was among the five winning artists of Future Vibes. In the same year, he also received a “Golden Ticket” awarded by Grit Wolany, which led to a four-page feature in The AI Art Magazine and the exhibition of his work at Artverse Paris.

In 2025, his master’s thesis was published in the Leonardo Graduate Abstracts Database (MIT Press). He has also published contributions in magazines and catalogues such as Prompt Magazine and The AI Art Magazine, and presented the paper Beyond Efficiency: Creating with AI While Respecting the Environment and Rights at the Unframing Knowledge conference, organized by P+ARTS (Partnership for Artistic Research in Technology and Sustainability).

Alongside his artistic research, he is active in academic research, teaching, and public engagement. He collaborated with Prof. Alessandro Chessa as part of NABA’s Giulietta Lab project and worked as a teaching assistant in Photography courses at the Accademia Italiana in Rome. In 2026, he also organized and conducted two focus groups dedicated to awareness and artistic experience in relation to AI consumption, involving researchers, lecturers, and professionals from various Italian Academies and Universities.