Today's Edition
AMEINAH ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)
In a world first, the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) recently launched a fellowship that brings the rigour of artificial intelligence into the creative fold of the arts. The programme aims to push AI out of the research lab and into the heart of society — shaping conversations around purpose, impact, and long-term transformation, according to Spring Chunxiao Fu, Managing Director at the MBZUAI Academy.
Speaking to Aletihad, Fu said the fellowship “offers space for artists, technologists, scientists, and cultural thinkers to explore how creative practice might respond to the technological shifts defining our era.”
Eight fellows — a diverse group of global visionaries — make up the inaugural cohort. This year, they will take part in two residency programmes in Abu Dhabi, designed to bring artists and AI scientists together to co-create conceptual frameworks for a world increasingly shaped by technology. They will also engage with major museums and cultural platforms across the emirate.
Fu explained that the fellowship looks into “how artistic voices today apprehend a world undergoing rapid technological transformation, and what new forms of expression and understanding may emerge.”
Beyond its conceptual goals, she added, the programme also aims to build technical literacy, foster cross-disciplinary exchange, and provide mentorship and intellectual scaffolding for the fellows.
The goal is to guarantee that “technological progress remains deeply rooted in human expression and cultural reflection,” Fu said.
What’s in Store for First Batch of Fellows
The year-long programme is organised around a sequence of intense, week-long residencies in Abu Dhabi, Fu said. The fellowship is based on experimentation, discussion, and cross-disciplinary contact, in contrast to standard academic courses.
All eight fellows have been acknowledged for their work in fields like data-driven art, AI filmmaking, generative media, immersive installations, and digital heritage. They include large-scale data pioneer Refik Anadol; filmmaker James Gerde, specialising in AI-augmented narratives; multidisciplinary artist Emi Kusano; water and light artist, Lachlan Turczan; and the UAE’s first NFT artist, Amrita Sethi.
They are joined by neural network landscape artist Daniel Ambrosi; Ahmad AlAttar, the first Emirati to combine AI with cultural heritage; and curator Giuseppe Moscatello.
They were chosen through a rigorous process that gauged their ability to cross disciplines, openness to experimentation, and demonstrated contribution.
From kinetic sculptures and neural network-generated visual art to augmented reality fashion and NFT-based tales, the artistic outputs are anticipated to be as diverse as the participants themselves.
“Fellows are expected to produce both creative outcomes and public engagement, with the programme explicitly designed to result in work that can be shared, experienced, and discussed,” Fu said.
The programme also chronicles the fellows’ experiences, offering a roadmap for artists navigating AI’s technical and ethical landscape, she added.
Establishing Abu Dhabi as a global hub for the developing interaction between AI and culture is at the core of The Academy’s mission. “This model integrates global talent into a local ecosystem, allowing pioneering artistic practices to evolve alongside one of the world’s most ambitious AI research agendas,” Fu said.
It positions Abu Dhabi as a centre for new cultural and technological narratives, highlighting the ways AI and artistic creativity can work together to shape society, she added.
