{"id":221896,"date":"2026-01-07T18:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/221896\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T18:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:54:07","slug":"how-cleveland-museum-of-arts-approach-to-ai-is-playing-out-with-visitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/221896\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cleveland Museum of Art\u2019s approach to AI is playing out with visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the Cleveland Museum of Art opened its \u201cRenaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses<\/a>\u201d exhibition with an AI-assisted video at the entrance<\/a>, museum officials knew it might raise eyebrows.<\/p>\n

The decision to use the technology, however, was a practical one. The garments showcased in the exhibition, designed by the likes of Gucci, Versace and Moncler, are too delicate to be worn. The video brings the pieces to life without putting them at risk.<\/p>\n

It also helps establish the contemporary, cutting-edge vibe curator Darnell-Jamal Lisby envisioned for the show, the museum\u2019s largest fashion exhibition to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t use technology for technology\u2019s sake,\u201d said Jane Alexander, CMA\u2019s chief digital information officer. \u201cWe use it when it solves a problem and makes art more relatable to more people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the museum views AI as a tool used to support artists, not as a replacement for human creativity. That choice \u2014 to use AI in a limited, clearly defined way \u2014 comes at a time when generative AI has become more ingrained in everyday life. Debate about its place in creative spaces has centered on how work is made, who owns it and whether jobs could be affected. The museum has received some criticism, including on Reddit<\/a>, where commenters questioned AI\u2019s role in the exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always going to be a handful of complaints if you\u2019re lucky for any exhibition,\u201d said Todd Mesek, CMA\u2019s chief marketing officer. \u201cBut the response to the exhibition and the video has been overwhelmingly positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The numbers back that up. Mesek said attendance has tracked about 15 percent above projections, attracting both longtime members and a newer, younger audience.<\/p>\n

Museum officials said it was important not only to disclose the presence of AI, but to explain how and why it was used. A placard next to the video does that, identifying Francesco Carrozzini and Henry Hargreaves as the artists behind it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy role was to make sure we did this in the best possible way,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cThat everything was transparent and that we had ethical and environmental considerations in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t someone typing a prompt into ChatGPT and projecting the output on a 20-foot-wall at the exhibition\u2019s entrance. The museum paid the artists for their work and collaborated with them over the course of a year. Alexander also ensured that the images used were properly licensed and that the project relied on minimal energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenaissance to Runway,\u201d on view through Feb. 1, isn\u2019t the first \u2014 and won\u2019t be the last \u2014 time the museum has used artificial intelligence. The institution was an early adopter of the technology, viewing it as a way to draw people deeper into its collection. AI-generated descriptions help make artworks more accessible on the museum\u2019s website, and AI-assisted features have been part of its interactive ArtLens gallery since 2012. More are planned for later this summer.<\/p>\n

But does that mean the museum would ever present an exhibition focused on AI itself, like a recent show at the Toledo Museum of Art that explored how artists use algorithms, code and generative processes?<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was interesting,\u201d Mesek said. \u201cBut the focus (on AI) here is making sure that this amazing collection is accessible and received by the broadest possible audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander added the museum\u2019s approach to using AI is not fixed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an evolving tool, and things are always changing,\u201d she said. \u201cI am always listening, seeing what\u2019s going on and where do we need to change the way we\u2019re thinking, because it is moving fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRenaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses\u201d runs through Feb. 1 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd., Cleveland. Advance tickets are required and available for $8-$17 at clevelandart.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the Cleveland Museum of Art opened its \u201cRenaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-221896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}