With its “Art & AI” program, the German Federal Cultural Foundation supports the development and implementation of at least ten projects of excellence. The fund, which is open to applications, is aimed at contemporary cultural institutions and independent artist groups from all disciplines (not individual artists). In addition to the fund, the program includes workshops, academies and presentations in which they share their knowledge with interested parties within and outside the program. Up to 3.68 million euros will be available for the program in the years 2024 to presumably 2028.
Open application fund
In recent years, there has been a veritable boom in fully or partially AI-generated art. After this initial phase of broad experimentation, it is now time to explore the aesthetic potential of AI technologies, reflect artistically on their social impact and build up a sound knowledge of them. With its “Art & AI” program, the German Federal Cultural Foundation is funding the development and implementation of at least ten projects of excellence.
The “Art & AI” program links two levels: working with AI technologies on the one hand and reflecting on their far-reaching social impact on the other. In particular, the funded institutions are encouraged to engage intensively with the use of technology for the common good, including open source licenses, resource consumption and the ethical handling of data. In this way, the artistic works resulting from the excellence projects should become reference points for the future exploration of AI technology. To make this possible, the cultural institutions need artistic expertise and, for example, technical know-how. They can therefore also realize the projects in collaboration with other national or international cultural institutions, software developers or independent artist groups.
Who can be supported?
The funding is aimed at cultural institutions and independent artist groups that can demonstrate the necessary skills and wish to engage artistically with one of the central technologies of our time and its social implications in a curious and critical manner. The funding amount is at least 100,000 euros and up to 240,000 euros per project.
Workshops, documentation and closing festival
In view of the rapid development of AI technologies, the program also relies on close networking and exchange between the projects. They continuously share their knowledge with other interested parties at public events. At a final festival, the artistic works are presented in the form of showcases or lecture performances, for example. A key aim of the festival is also to incorporate the topics, open questions, experiences and findings of the projects into the current social discourse on AI. The experiences and codes developed are documented specifically for the specialist public.
Application deadline: April 10, 2025