Digital Technology, Artistic Authorship, and the Boundaries of Fine Art Practice in Nigeria

The integration of digital technology into fine art practice has provoked sustained debate about the nature of artistic authorship, the status of the handmade, and the boundaries between fine art and design in the digital age. This study investigates how Nigerian fine artists are navigating questions of authorship, originality, and artistic identity as digital tools become integral to their practice. A qualitative research design is employed, combining in-depth interviews with 25 digitally practising artists in Lagos, Enugu, and Abuja with critical analysis of their work using theories of authorship and digital aesthetics. The study examines how artists conceptualise the relationship between algorithmic processes and creative intentionality, how they represent their digital practice to audiences and the art market, and whether they perceive digital tools as liberating or constraining to their artistic identity. The theoretical framework draws on the philosophy of art and authorship, digital humanities scholarship, and the emerging literature on artificial intelligence in creative practice. The study situates its analysis within recent debates about non-fungible tokens and machine-generated art as disruptive forces that are sharpening questions about what constitutes authentic artistic creation. The geographic focus on three zones allows examination of whether artists in different institutional and cultural environments hold distinct positions on these questions. Existing literature from international digital art scholarship provides the theoretical foundation, while the Nigerian perspective is largely absent from this body of work. Findings contribute original empirical and critical perspectives relevant to art education, curatorial practice, and policy on creative industries. Keywords: digital art, artistic authorship, Nigerian artists, technology, contemporary fine art