AMI — April 2020 Newsletter

Eva Kozanecka
2 min readApr 8, 2020

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Hello. Welcome to April, and a monthly newsletter from Artists + Machine Intelligence.

In the past year, we’ve experimented with formats to keep you, dear readers, informed of program news. We’re restarting this monthly newsletter to share what we’re up to. Let us know what you’d like to see more or less of in the comments below.

The world feels different this month. It’s my fifth week of working from home in Brooklyn, New York. And I’m finding it hard to believe that this time, last year, Kenric and I were hanging vinyl, and hosting a project space at Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair at MOCA.

As many of us remain in lockdown, I am finding solace in artworks that remind me of my favorite places. Like this piano recording in an Austrian cafe (thank you, Austin Kleon, Jez Burrows, and Phil Smith). And Naho Matsuda’s every thing every time, an ephemeral, poetic narrative powered by public data streams. The following excerpt describes one day in Manchester, England, but it might as well be New York this morning…

the sun rises

the streets are empty

today is the last day of the term

the car park is almost empty

the traffic light turns green

the cleaning shift starts

the bus is on time

and it is colder than yesterday

In what artworks, activities, or hobbies, are you finding comfort, strength, or inspiration? Send me a note, and we’ll share responses in next month’s newsletter.

Here’s what else is happening:

We are beginning to compile funding resources for artists affected by Covid-19. A few, to start, include: Creative Capital’s List of Arts Resources During the COVID-19 Outbreak, Intersection for the Arts (for SF Bay Area artists), Printed Matter’s Resources for Artists and Independent Publishers, and Field of Vision’s Documentary Freelancer Relief Fund.

Our Q&A series continues this month, celebrating writers and poets working with generative techniques, in honor of National Poetry Month. First up is Ross Goodwin. An artist, creative technologist, gonzo data scientist, and ‘writer of writers,’ Ross shares, among many things, how not to make a Rothko painting, and why his next project might include a weather balloon.

Kenric McDowell recently spoke with For the Wild’s Ayana Young on what an Earth-centered technological paradigm might look like. Play the episode.

And David Hockey sends a message of hope: Do Remember They Can’t Cancel Spring.

Stay healthy, and have a great month ahead.

Eva

David Hockney. “Do Remember They Can’t Cancel Spring.”

Eva Kozanecka is a content strategist at Google AI, where she explores how diverse media can improve the representation and communication of emerging technologies. She also co-leads Artists + Machine Intelligence, a program at Google that invites artists to work with engineers and researchers together in the design of intelligent systems. Questions? Feedback? Email ekozanecka@google.com

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