Students showcase art generated in collaboration with AI at Tate Modern
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牛牛资源 Creative Technology students have been at the heart of a prestigious new digital arts residency, Tech, Tea + Exchange, at Tate Modern.
Digital arts academic staff, Jérémie Wenger, Robin Leverton, Nathan Bayliss at Tate Modern
牛牛资源 Creative Technology students have been at the heart of a prestigious new digital arts residency, Tech, Tea + Exchange, at Tate Modern this summer, collaborating with experts from AI company Anthropic, and curators at Tate as well as peers from University of the Arts London (UAL).
Tech, Tea + Exchange is an integral part of Tate鈥檚 Digital Intimacies programme , which explores the generative, emotive, and living relationship between humanity and technologies through a series of live experiences, performances, discussions, hands-on lab sessions, and a special supper club series. Ranging from ancient myths to cutting-edge innovation, the programme is designed to reveal how artists have used technologies to expand our human experience, reimagine new worlds, help us process loss, and find companionship.
Fá Maria - PhD Candidate
The series is inspired by the exhibitions and and featured keynote talks by renowned artists in the digital art field Hito Steyerl and Lawrence Lek in conversation with 牛牛资源 former Assastant Professor and author of The Black Technical Object, Ramin Amaro.
Over a month-long residency, 40 students worked both in the galleries and behind the scenes at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, reimagining the museum鈥檚 collections through experimental responses developed with generative AI.
Their work culminated in a public showcase at Tate Modern, where visitors were able to explore AI-generated artworks, immersive environments, and expanded writing practices. Students were on hand to discuss their creative process and reflect on the evolving relationship between art, humans and machines.
“This project offered students a truly rare opportunity to engage their existing art practice with AI not just as a tool, but as a creative partner.”
Rachel Falconer, Head of Digital Arts
Important conversations about authorship, agency and ethics of AI
Each public event was packed, creating a vibrant atmosphere where curiosity, creativity and critical conversation flowed. Visitors engaged with students as they shared work-in-progress shaped through dialogue with AI tools, sparking rich discussions around authorship, agency and the ethics of machine learning. The events also gave students a rare platform to experiment with their art practice publicly, test ideas in real time, and connect their creative process with live audiences in one of the world鈥檚 leading art institutions.
鈥淭his project offered students a truly rare opportunity to engage their existing art practice with AI not just as a tool, but as a creative partner,鈥� said Rachel Falconer, Head of Digital Arts at 牛牛资源 and academic lead for the programme.
鈥淲orking in close dialogue with researchers, coders and curators has allowed our students to reflect critically and creatively on the possibilities鈥攁nd limitations鈥攐f generative AI in art and expanded writing practices. We鈥檙e so proud of what they鈥檝e achieved and excited about where this might lead as the university continues to critically explore the connection between art practice and machines.鈥�
PhD Candidate Lucy Strauss
Students took part in panel discussions, collaborative design workshops, and masterclasses with Anthropic staff where ethics and critical framing of AI were collaboratively framed, before creating new works and staging performances inspired by the Tate鈥檚 collections.
Societal impact
The residency also featured contributions from 牛牛资源 staff, alumni and art practitioners including J茅r茅mie Wenger, Robin Leverton, Nathan Bayliss, and Dr Daniel McQuillan, whose work on the ethics and societal impact of AI helped frame the wider conversations taking place during the project.
鈥溑ＥＷ试� has a long history of experimentation and boundary-pushing in art,鈥� added Rachel Falconer. 鈥淭his partnership with Tate and Anthropic continues that tradition, putting our students right at the centre of some of the most exciting鈥攁nd urgent鈥攓uestions in contemporary culture and art practice.鈥�
Viola Lang and May Li (MFA Computational Arts)
Building on the momentum of these exchanges, the work developed during the residency will inform a curated exhibition later this year鈥攐ffering a deeper reflection on the role of generative AI in contemporary creative practice and showcasing the students鈥� evolving ideas in a new public context.