Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has launched an ambitious research-led art commissioning programme exploring how creativity can help shape more human-centred approaches to artificial intelligence and the future of workplaces.
Delivered in partnership with AVEVA, the Cambridge-headquartered industrial software leader, the initiative will help shape the experience of the company’s newly refurbished £30 million global headquarters at Cambridge Science Park as it approaches its 60th anniversary year.
The 10-month initiative is led by Dr Idrees Rasouli, Chair of ARU’s DesignLab, and will bring together artists, designers, creative technologists, researchers, industry professionals and local communities to investigate how creativity can make AI more socially meaningful. The programme will culminate in the installation of nine specifically commissioned artworks at AVEVA’s headquarters due to open in 2027.
The programme includes an open call for creatives, followed by a series of workshops, mentoring sessions and a public exhibition at Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery opening on August 21st, giving visitors the opportunity to explore the shortlisted proposals before the final nine commissions are selected.
Dr Rasouli, Associate Professor of Design and Urban Innovation at ARU, said: “This collaboration with AVEVA demonstrates that innovation happens when technology and creativity work together. Rather than treating art as decoration, we are positioning creative practice as a catalyst for ethical thinking, responsible innovation and more humanised workplaces.
"AI can process information, recognise patterns and accelerate innovation, but creativity enables us to interpret it and understand its wider implications. This programme brings together artists, designers, researchers, and technologists to explore how AI can be developed in ways that are ethical and inclusive. Creativity is not an optional extra in the age of AI, it is essential to building technologies and workplaces that people can trust."
Lena Milosevic MBE, Global Director Culture and Inclusion at AVEVA, said: “We are excited to work with ARU and the creative community to explore how creativity can help humanise industrial intelligence and make emerging technologies more meaningful, inclusive and socially connected. As AVEVA prepares to open its refurbished global HQ and approaches its 60th anniversary, this programme reflects our belief that creativity plays an essential role in innovation. Our new space has been designed to inspire collaboration, creativity and wellbeing, and these commissions will help create an environment where technology, people and ideas come together.”
Rather than simply decorating the building, the artworks will become part of a wider research project exploring how creative practice can influence workplace culture, responsible innovation and public understanding of emerging technologies. The project is underpinned by Dr Rasouli’s SAGE (Slow AI for Generative Ethics) framework, which encourages reflection, ethics, cultural awareness and human judgement alongside technological innovation, with the aim of ensuring AI is developed in ways that are inclusive and centred on human experience.
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