Beyond the Frame

Beyond the Frame

Tate Britain, Queer and Now – 10 June 2023

Ever wondered what lies beyond the picture frame?
Or wanted to change what we see in a gallery or museum?

These were the initial prompts set by Beyond the Frame – a drop-in workshop for Tate Britain’s Queer and Now programme (June 2023), which offered offered members of the public access to AI generative software as a means to re-imagine and go beyond the frame of a selection of artworks from Tate Britain’s Collection.

Using simple word prompts, the AI software empowered participants to quickly re-work and re-scale artworks from the Tate Collection as well as create entirely new imagery. In this way, participants learned to use some of the latest AI tools, allowing them to make creative choices and take artworks in new directions, so shifting the perceptions of the museum.

As an immersive experience highlighting the evolving relationship between technology and art, the artworks produced by the participants were projected at scale within the Digital Studio. This alternative live exhibition, part of the Queer & Now event, showcased alternative creative interventions, opening up new avenues for representation and interpretation at Tate Britain.

The event also featured a thought-provoking segment, ‘In Conversation: AI Art and the New-Born ‘Queero’. Artist Whiskey Chow premiered their new ‘queero’, Bruce Lee Chow, and also presented examples of their initial use of Stability’s Clipdrop AI software. In discussion with Ed D’Souza and Sunil Manghani, Whiskey Chow considered the importance of queer visibility and empowerment, and demonstrated some of the surprising outcomes having used the AI software. The discussion was chaired by curator Dr. Lee Weinberg, who invited members of the audience to consider the current possibilities, limitations, and impacts of AI imaging.

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Beyond the Frame was devised by Profs. Ed D’Souza and Sunil Manghani from Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton in collaboration with Julia LePla at Tate Learning Partnerships, and technical advisor Lucia Cipolina Kun @ArtRestoreAI. It was delivered in conjunction with Tate Collective Producers and students from Winchester School of Art. The workshop was supported by Stability AI with Clipdrop software; the Large Scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network and the AI & Arts interest group at The Alan Turing Institute.

Beyond the Frame was part of Queer and Now → a festival dedicated to the powerful role of LGBTQIA+ art and culture in the UK.