What are the pressures experienced by community-based creative gathering spaces on the east coast now that AI has begun to permeate community or audience-engaged creative activity? In what ways is AI impacting operations, mission or vision, and activities? How do artists, community supporters, and board members feel that AI is impacting what is already a precariously supported operation?
This community residency began in September 2024 with a visit to Halifax by CLCF PI ME Luka to connect with Wonder’neath Arts Society, Zuppa Theatre, Narratives in Space + Time Society (NiS+TS), the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. This will be followed up by online work through the winter of 2025, and a second visit in the spring/summer of 2025. Wonder’neath Arts Society is a community-based, innovatively funded and operated open studio model based in Halifax, NS. Over the past 14 years, Wonder’neath has consistently evolved to respond to community needs for creative outlets, opportunities, and professional supports. Both Zuppa and NiSTS are deeply interested in how technology, including AI, impacts community-engaged opportunities or poses challenges, while CultureLink embraces the potential of AI as a sector changemaker. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is engaged in a deep consideration of how AI will impact not just curation and presentation but also how art is produced and circulated. The Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage is interested in how AI will affect the livelihoods of creative workers in the province, as well as export opportunities, the viability of rural and underserved communities, and associated industries and sites.
A future phase will include site visits to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2025-2026, to connect with many of ME’s previous collaborators. The plan is to include the Shorefast Foundation on Fogo Island, Woody Point Writers’ Festival on the Newfoundland west coast, Bonavista Bienniale and Trinity Festivals, Eastern Edge Artist-run Centre, and St John’s International Women’s Film Festival. Watch this space for more as the project develops.
Themes addressed by this project:
- Theme 1: Contexts and Constraints: Political Economy of AI and the Digital Today
- Theme 2: Creativity: Artistic Responses to AI in a Digital World
- Theme 3: Conditions for Change: Policies and Practices for Sustainable Working Conditions
