REVOLUTIONIZING VISUAL ARTS EDUCATION: THE IMPACT OF AI

The Work of Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Research Presentation at College Art Association conference, Chicago USA 2024

Nearly a century after Walter Benjamin wrote his seminal text proposing that the innovation of mechanical reproduction devalues a work of art, we find ourselves in a similar quandary. Yet technological innovations have an extensive history in the production of art and, the definition of creativity is equally shape-shifting. This presentation explores the concept of creativity in relationship to AI generated aesthetics and computational creativity as an artistic tool, through examples of several artworks as case studies. As we navigate the prevalence of AI in the production of Contemporary Art, this presentation approaches the topic from the conceptual lens of a re-evaluation of definitions, and investigation of how we may re-contextualize current artistic tools, artistic process, and our conditions of art material. Conclusions and propositions respond to the array of issues and opportunities presented by this technology, establishing pedagogical strategies for navigating these conversations in art practice in the sphere of higher education.

ART SCHOOL PEDAGOGY 2.0

Why Doesn’t Our Studio Look Like Our Art? The Potential Dimensions of 21st Century Studio Art Education

“Reports From the Field”: My presentation theorizes how the spaces in which we teach might be more reflective of what we make: if a contemporary artwork is a marriage of concept and craft – the immaterial and the material – then how might our present-day learning environments reflect our contemporary art practices? ...how might we reimagine the spaces and cultures in which we teach to become more reflective of what we make?

The technologies we’ve been forced to use, prioritize, and repurpose to teach studio art during COVID mirror the social communication methods that pervade our everyday lives. Teaching with an array of digital tools and formats reflects our students’ engagement with the world outside the classroom and allows us to generate new ways of thinking and new methods of making within it. If historically art educators are not only teaching technique but critical thinking and creative problem solving, how better to position such an education then to reposition the physical classroom in multiple dimensions?

My presentation is a webpage & short video: a cartographic journey in the format of a magic trick illuminating a mind map in dimensional narrative. LINK TO VIDEO

CULTURELAB

In 2016 I received an Editorial Fellowship from the Cultural Research Network & WolfBrown to curate a research collection for cultural policy makers worldwide. My collection, Alternative Modes of Cultural Production: The Contemporary Practices of Artist-Run Platforms and Small-Scale Arts Organizations, grew from a brewing interest in this vital part of the arts ecology; a significant portion of the arts and culture sector that is largely unrecognized, undocumented, and undervalued.

Although historical and widespread in practice, artist-run and small-scale arts organizations have significantly less visibility, documentation, evaluation and advocacy than its counterparts. This collection includes articles about: alternative organizational structures and funding methods developed by artists, current institutional trends in emerging art, digital and nomadic practices, and new advocacy platforms for artists. Artist-Run Spaces serve as incubators for alternative strategies for organizing, funding, and programming, and showcase the work of artists working in new genres and contemporary forms. Many of these emerging practices "trickle up" in the sector, and it is after being created and developed at the grassroots level (often with little resources*) they are later employed by larger institutions. The CultureLab Library is a digital archive edited and authored by arts & culture sector practitioners internationally that establishes a common platform for diverse stakeholders in the arts and culture sector to contribute, access, and publish research. CultureLab is a partnership between an informal consortium of international arts consultants and the Cultural Policy Center (CPC) at University of Chicago.

RESEARCH FOR COMMON FIELD

The Resource Index // Living Archives

Common Field is a national visual arts organizing network connecting contemporary, experimental, noncommercial artist-run and artist centered spaces and initiatives. The organization’s membership includes alternative art spaces, publications, digital exhibition venues, festivals, residencies, collectives, collaboratives, and individual organizers. These projects and spaces provide interdisciplinary and hybrid forms for art production, reception, and exchange.

In collaboration with Stephanie Sherman, former Co-Director of Common Field, I created a Resource Index for Common Field's membership. The index is a comprehensive collection of resources for artist-run collaboratives, arts non-profits, and individual artists. Categories include: funding, organizational structures, cultural data, field archives, public art, advocacy, activism, coalitions and leadership, socially engaged practices, and technology.