Art & AI

With its new programme “Art & AI”, the German Federal Cultural Foundation supports the development and realisation of at least ten projects of excellence. The application-based funding programme is targeted at contemporary cultural institutions and independent artist groups in all artistic areas (i.e. not individual artists). In addition to the funding itself, the programme includes workshops, academies and presentations, in which knowledge is shared with interested parties both within and outside the programme. A total of €3.68 million has been allocated to fund the programme from 2024 to prospectively 2028.

In the last few years, we’ve witnessed a veritable boom of fully or partially AI-generated art. After this initial phase of widespread experimentation, the aim is now to explore the aesthetic potential of AI technologies, to reflect on their possible social impact and gain a deeper understanding of the subject. With the programme “Art & AI”, the German Federal Cultural Foundation supports the development and implementation of at least ten projects of excellence.

The programme “Art & AI” operates on two different levels: on the one hand, working with AI technologies, and on the other, reflecting on their far-reaching social implications. The funded institutions are especially encouraged to intensively explore the application of AI technology oriented to the common good, including open-source licenses, resource consumption and the ethical use of data. The resulting artistic works will thus serve as reference points for future engagement with AI technology. To this end, cultural organisations require artistic expertise and, for example, technical know-how. Therefore, the funded institutions are free to carry out their projects in cooperation with other national and international cultural institutions, software developers and independent artist groups.

Funding is targeted at cultural institutions and independent artist groups which can substantiate that they possess the requisite competence to pursue artistic projects that critically and inquisitively examine one of the central technologies of our time and its potential social impact. The programme awards a minimum of €100,000 and a maximum of €240,000 per project.

In view of the rapid development of AI technologies, the programme relies on the projects to communicate and network with one another in close exchange. Public events will allow them to continually share their knowledge with other interested parties. At a concluding festival, the projects will present their artistic works in the form of showcases, lecture performances etc. A key objective of the festival is to introduce the topics, questions, experiences and project findings into the current public discussion on AI. The experiences and developed code will be documented for the benefit of the professional community.

The Executive Board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation is responsible for selecting projects based on the recommendations of an independent expert jury. The funding guidelines and application requirements will be published on this page by the end of 2024. We will also inform you about all the important dates, such as the submission deadline, in our newsletter (external link, opens in a new window) and via social media (external link, opens in a new window).