Noorderlicht receives positive advice Kunstraad Groningen
Kunstraad Groningen advises the Municipality of Groningen and the Province of Groningen to grant Noorderlicht 100% of their grant application. The grant would not only make Noorderlicht's programming possible during the next four years, but is also an enormous mental boost for the organization. Noorderlicht is now continuing to work on the exhibition Pixel Perceptions, which will focus on the growing impact of AI and technology on our visual culture. Pixel Perceptions can be visited at Noorderlicht and in the Akerk Groningen from October 26, 2024.
Noorderlicht got the good news during the presentation at the provincial government building by the Arts Council Groningen on July 18. An enormous boost after its recent rejection for the national cultural Basic Infrastructure. The Arts Council valued the course of renewal initiated by Noorderlicht.
Roosje Klap was recently appointed by the board as general director to pursue that lens of change: “Photography and lens-based media offer a fascinating glimpse of the complexity of our world in the age of AI. It is important to look critically at the reliability of images, and the ethical and social impact of the technology we face every day. I believe art is a powerful tool to stimulate these discussions and explore the limits of our perception!”
The Arts Council Groningen praises the resilience of Noorderlicht in its advice: “After the loss of national subsidy in recent times, Noorderlicht has had to scrutinize its organization and finances and cut costs. In the eyes of the Arts Council, Noorderlicht has handled this well.”
The Stimuleringsfonds voor Creatieve Industrie previously announced its positive assessment of Pixel Perceptions: ‘This project stimulates discussion about the reliability of visual information and provides a platform for research into the social consequences of AI for image-makers.’
Noorderlicht is extremely pleased with this advice from the Arts Council. Klap: “Together with the team we cheerfully framed the earlier rejection and hung it up in our library, as a reminder that we have work to do. We see the advice as confirmation that we are going in the right direction. We are extremely happy with their confidence and cannot wait to show what we have to offer this fall: the only way is up!”
Pixel Perceptions
Together with curators Wim Melis and Rosa Wevers, who recently received her PhD and is involved at Academie Minerva as a researcher in Art & Technology, Klap curated Pixel Perceptions. The exhibition highlights the reliability of images in an age of AI and algorithms, and explores their impact on everyday life. What does this technological revolution mean?
Taking place in the beautiful medieval Akerk and its own Noorderlicht Studio located next door, this exhibition showcases a leading group of (inter)national artists working in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), photography and lens-based media, with works by renowned artists such as Kate Crawford, Vladan Joler, Elisa Giardina Papa, Jake Elwes and Mimi Onuoha as well as younger talents such as Franc Archive, who recently won the Noorderlicht Award. In a world full of disinformation and growing social divisions, Noorderlicht, with this exhibition, an education programme and the in-depth programme The Digital Mirror, urges people to engage deeply with the great challenges of our time and asks: are we still the masters of our own imagination? Find out more about Pixel Perceptions here.
