Museum and brand host exchange
Shenzhen International Art Museum and SmallRig hosted an international exchange on 11 November on how art and technology ecosystems are being reshaped in the AI era, the company said in a release. The event brought together leaders of Chinese art museums, Anett Holzheid, senior curator at Germany's ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, artists and SmallRig co-founder Gao Haiyan, the release said.
Museum directors on AI
Zhang Zikang, director of Shenzhen International Art Museum and a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, said art and technology are a key direction for the museum and are rooted in Shenzhen's technology environment. Wang Shaoqiang, director of the Guangdong Museum of Art, said AI had been used to make short films about classic works, cutting cost and production time, but stressed that art must return to personal growth, understanding of the world and the expression of Eastern aesthetics. Holzheid said exhibitions are shared ground for artists, audiences and curators, and that AI widens perception and enables collaboration across disciplines.
Artists test generated images
Zadok Ben-David used AI to explore bird forms for an installation, refined the images repeatedly and selected some for the work, determining that it retain an artist's character, emotion and humanity. A photographer set an AI-generated lightning strike against a desert he had photographed himself, gaining new ideas but noting that generated imagery tends toward sameness and that real presence at a scene cannot be substituted. Spatial artist Feng Yu argued for honesty of material, saying imperfection and unplanned outcomes can carry sincerity.
Installation and company plans
After the forum, guests visited SmallRig's headquarters for the unveiling of Ode to the Orchid, an installation co-created with Feng Yu and the first of his works placed in a corporate workplace. SmallRig said it placed art in everyday spaces instead of sponsoring an exhibition or releasing a co-branded product, so people meet it in passing rather than behind museum walls. Gao said companies often move from manufacturing to technology, while SmallRig also wants to merge with art and creativity; the space is only the surface, he said, and the aim is an open, diverse, inclusive and creative culture and a lasting bond with creators built on shared taste. SmallRig said it will keep working with artists, explore art IP and cultural products, and link products, content and services into one ecosystem, with more activities to support creators planned.
