Three-day AI art fest in Bengaluru to address urgency of climate change

A three-day festival here spanning the physical and virtual worlds will witness artworks, performances, gaming and installations created in collaboration between artists across India and the UK using Artificial Intelligence that convey the urgency of the climate emergency.

FutureFantastic, conceptualised by Jaaga's BeFantastic of Bengaluru in collaboration with FutureEverything of Manchester will be hosted at the Bangalore International Centre from March 24 to 26.

It is part of the India/UK Together, Season of Culture that brings together artists from the two countries to address shared global challenges such as climate change, environment sustainability, equality and gender among others.

The audience will get a chance to interact with innovative, AI-powered interactive artworks, as well as to investigate the role of art and technology through panel discussions and workshops led by experts in technology, arts, and climate action, the organisers said.

The focus of the festival is to find potential creative solutions to the climate crisis by asking questions of how AI Art can create a personal and emotional connection to the impacts of climate change and how it can help in envisioning a climate-positive future.

It will feature homegrown and international artworks and performances, including works by Madhu Natraj, Nicole Seiler, Jake Elwes, and BeFanta stic Within.

It will also offer conversations between experts and enthusiasts in the fields of art, technology, and climate which will explore how AI Art can best help generate public awareness around environmental issues.

TechArt workshops will aim to debunk myths about AI technology, art, and climate change, and offer simple yet effective methods for understanding and responding to the climate emergency, a statement said.

The festival includes curated artworks by internationally recognised artists, as well as nine commissioned pieces created by collaborative artist groups from the BeFantastic Fellowship programmes.

The headline performance by Madhu Natraj, an Indian contemporary dance choreographer, Jia-Yu Liu, a UK-based media artist, and Bjoern Lengers, a German CreaTech artist, Give me a Sign, will trigger stories about the fears of a rapidly changing climate, the statement said.

Asthir Gehrayee (Unstable Depth) is an audiovisual artwork inspired by the ocean and its more-than-human inhabitants, it added.

According to Jonathan Kennedy, director arts - India at British Council, "Climate change is the most urgent global challenge of our time. The FutureFantastic festival is perhaps the world's first AI and Arts festival with artists in CreaTec and performing arts from Bengaluru and Manchester, and around the world collaborating to create innovative new pieces of art, games and immersive digital and live performance experiences addressing water conservation, a torrent of waste and endangered habitats."

Kamya Ramachandran, founder director of Be Fantastic, said, "This is a moment to mark within the city where a techart festival triggers conversation around two complex concepts like Artificial Intelligence and climate change.

"After three years of enabling artists and creative technologists to come together online from various time zones, for a sincere exchange of knowledge, ideas and viewpoints, we are excited to present artworks and performances, workshops, and artist sharings with layers of AI and are delighted to have the support of partners like British Council and Rohini and Nandan Nilekani Philanthropies.