SAAI Factory

SAAI–Super Artistic AI–Factory is the first contemporary art based hackathon on artificial intelligence. SAAI Factory calls for hackers, artists, coders, designers, tech evangelists, creatives, and developers from all disciplines to explore artificial intelligence as a means and field of artistic practice.

The project aims to foster cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange and new approaches towards artistic production: How does the interaction between humans, AI, datasets and neural networks shape the artistic process? How can we foster interoperability, or synesthesia, between the four domains of text, music, image and movement? Can AI share the momentum of creation, when inspiration comes into being?

SAAI Factory will provide for a space to experiment and prototype AI driven artistic projects and support selected works. The process starts with an open call for artistic proposals followed by a second call for skills for tech-savvy practitioners willing to contribute. Internationally renown and dedicated mentors of the field will review the artistic proposals and check them for feasibility, tools and skills needed to realize the project. A period of online social encounter and match-making will form international teams around the artistic proposals. 

In Summer 2021, in an international hybrid hackathon the participants will come together and join forces to prototype, experiment and work on the realization of the artistic ideas. The hackathon will take place both locally - in Hamburg, Zurich, Lagos, Thuwal, Riyadh, Dubai, Mumbai, Bangalore, and San Francisco - and virtually. By the end of the hackathon, all prototypes will be presented to the international community. 

A board of mentors and partners will select six prototypes that will be rewarded with $2,000 and the opportunity to create a further developed version of their work for exhibitions and showcases at the ZKM Karlsruhe, KAUST Thuwal, and the 1st AI-Biennale in Essen e.a. in spring 2022. Further production support will be provided. All involved creators, project ideas and prototypes will be presented during the exhibition as well.