Cholo-scurio: An AI Art Exhibition

Co-founder Juan Castillo posing with community members that came to enjoy to artwork and listen to the art talk.

Co-founder Juan Castillo was awarded an ArtsActivate grant through the City of Dallas’s Office of Arts and Culture to present an artist talk about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in art, as well as create five pieces of AI artwork. The pieces included scenes inspired by life growing up in Pleasant Grove in the late ‘90s and 2000s. They included scenes of a sniper aiming a rifle through an apartment window, and a SWAT officer brandishing his weapon indoors on Christmas eve. The name of the show, “Cholo-scurio,” is derived from “chiaroscurio” the hard lighting style of painting prominent in works by Caravaggio.

Community members waiting for the art talk to begin.

In his art talk, Castillo asserted that AI does not pose a threat to artists and their work. On the contrary, AI can prove to be a useful tool in the creation of concept art for use in creative consultations before the commission of paid artwork. Subsequently, Castillo went on to demonstrate what programs to use to create AI art, as well as how to craft a productive prompt. He also detailed how AI art works, and how it can be modified without complete loss of the artwork.

Original promotional flyer for the event.

The projecting space used to present the artist talk on AI.

Gallery 86 looks forward to continuing to grow the arts in Pleasant Grove through continued arts offerings, including art classes and additional art shows in the near future. We’d like to further thank community members for the continued support, as well as Arts and Culture Commissioner Tamitha Curiel, and Priscilla Rice for their consistent belief in the work we do.