Ai-Da Robot announced as artist in residence at Glastonbury

Ai-Da will be giving live demonstrations of her incredible painting skills at the festival, with two painting sessions a day in the Shangri La field at Glastonbury Festival. Festival goers will be able to watch live as Ai-Da Robot paints portraits of artists performing in the Shangri La field, in real time.

Prints of Ai-Da’s new artworks featuring Billie Eilish, Diana Ross, Kendrick Lamar and Paul McCartney will launch exclusively to Glasto-goers in the ShangrilART gallery at Glastonbury Festival and will be available to buy on the ShangrilART website after the festival ends. Proceeds from sales of the prints will go back into developing and supporting future artists and pushing creative boundaries within the field.

How does Ai-Da Robot paint?

Ai-Da uses cameras in its eyes and computer memory to paint her portraits. The unit uses a variety of unique AI algorithms to paint, draw and abstract, and its artistic Bees algorithm (Evolutionary AI). It then uses her robotic arm to bring digital formations into the physical world, through drawing and painting on to canvas. The work is layered and scaled to give the final multi-dimensional portrait. Ai-Da’s artistic process itself reflecting the many aspects of technological change that have taken place during the past 50 years.

Creator and project director of Ai-Da Robot Aidan Meller comments: “After making history with her self portraits, Ai-Da is continually developing her skills. It’s an exciting time as her painting ability is progressing, and there’s a lot of innovation. How does a non-human robot see the world, how do Ai-Da’s unique algorithms interrogate what she sees? She is in new artistic territory.”

www.ai-darobot.com/