Aberrant AI invites artists and others to explore the potential creative applications of artificial intelligence to express conditions of horror and the macabre. Horror is a profound way of engaging with the unknown and the unknowable aspects of existence. Participants will examine how AI can both embody and provoke the existential dread and sublime terror that horror evokes, challenging our perceptions of control, autonomy, and the limits of human understanding.

Dates: September 3, 2024 to October 5, 2024

Honorarium: artists receive a $250 honorarium and up to $100 in material fees

Delivery: in-person at the Bridge, 379 Adelaide St. W., Toronto, ON, Canada

To apply, email us your expression of interest via home@ukaiprojects.com

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Event Schedule

Upcoming Events

AI for Arts and Culture Leaders: Information Session

Wed Oct 16, 2024 @ 06:00 pm

Delivery: Online

Event Type: Comprehensive Program

Get a sneak peek of our upcoming program, "AI for Arts and Culture Leaders," running from November 13 to February 21, 2025. This webinar will introduce participants to some key themes for arts administrators and leaders thinking about artificial intelligence (1 hour) and provide information and respond to questions about the forthcoming program (30 minutes). 

“AI for Arts and Culture Leaders” is a comprehensive program, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, intended for arts and culture administrators eager to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on their sector and their day-to-day work.

The full program will feature a blend of online and in-person elements, including webinars, workshops, and discussions with experts. Participants will gain practical insights into the benefits and challenges of AI in arts administration, focusing on pragmatic solutions and strategies for digital transformation. The online portion of the program will run from November 13, 2024 to February 21, 2025 and the in-person intensive will be held in Toronto from February 4 to 7, 2025.

With a fee of $299 + HST, this program includes all necessary texts and materials, although travel and accommodation in Toronto are not covered. Enhance your ability to innovate and adapt in a digital cultural environment and prepare for the future of arts management.

Acknowledgement: UKAI Project’s nation-wide AI programming is made possible through the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Note that this program is funded through the Canada Council. Future iterations will be priced at $599/program.

Navigating a Polarized World

Online and In-Person Residency

Thu Oct 17, 2024 @ 12:00 pm

Delivery: online and in-person

Event Type: Comprehensive Program

In a world marked by division and discord, demonstrating moral courage is essential. However, social polarization too often leads to frustration and real risk for those operating outside of popular ideologies. Our “Navigating a Polarized World” program is for those with a clear purpose but who find themselves slowed or misunderstood by those with a vested interest in existing ideological debates.

Are you ready to confront and bridge societal divides with resilience and creativity?

Running from October 17, 2024 to January 24, 2025, this blended online and
in-person immersive program focuses on the raw and volatile challenge of navigating a polarized landscape.

Over the course of this program, participants will:

Engage Deeply: Dive into intensive workshops and dynamic discussions that push (and erase) boundaries. Explore the power of narrative and storytelling to reshape perspectives and foster understanding.

Innovate Fearlessly: Learn to leverage cutting-edge strategies and technologies to create impact. Harness the potential of digital tools and AI to drive change in
your community and beyond.

Lead Authentically: Develop a framework rooted in empathy, integrity, and cultural awareness to make decisions with confidence. Embrace the complexities of identity and experience to lead with purpose..

Build Bridges: Collaborate with a diverse cohort of peers and mentors who bring unique insights and experiences. Foster connections that transcend ideological divides and promote collective action.

This program combines online and in-person elements, including an in-person intensive in Toronto from January 14 - 17, 2025. Made possible through the Canada Council for the Arts, participants will receive comprehensive resources
and guidance, although travel and accommodation costs are not included.

Acknowledgement: UKAI Project’s nation-wide AI programming is made possible through the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Carnival of Shipwreck

Full Carnival Pass

Tue Oct 22, 2024 @ 02:00 pm

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: Carnival

Access to everything throughout the duration of Carnival and some surprise merchandise included as a thank you for supporting this work.

Carnival of Shipwreck: Full Carnival Pass

Five days of provocations, performances, installations, ideas, music, dancing and many surprises.

Artists, workshops, performance lectures, and more will be announced over time.

What is Carnival?

Carnival of Shipwreck is UKAI’s celebration of being in the water.

Our culture did not evolve to deal with climate change or the explosion of artificial intelligence. The promise of a better future may no longer hold and as a result, too many cling to ideas of control and rescue. Groups of various political stripes are rediscovering their authoritarian impulses.

The accumulated institutions, routines, and assumptions that got us into this mess aren't likely to get us out of it.

We'll need to figure out other ways of being in the water and our work in 2024 has been an attempt to contribute in various ways to this effort. Carnival of Shipwreck is a celebration of this work and, more importantly, of those that made it.

What you can expect at Carnival of Shipwreck?

You can expect beauty and rage. You can expect direct, strange and embodied encounters with the changes underway. If we continue to turn sense-making over to ideologies, whether unreflectively internalized or forced upon us, we forego the work of making up our minds. To be answerable for what's coming, we will need to rediscover our capacity to make sense of the world.

Programmatically, you can expect a return to first principles and looking at artificial intelligence and ecological aesthetics with a weather eye to the future. We will be hosting workshops, performance lectures, provocations, performances, installations, and a lot of general weirdness and disorder.

And, as always, the main focus will be on music, dancing, release, reversal, friendship, and letting go so that we might return to the work renewed once Carnival season is concluded.

Last year we had over 350 folks come through and this year will be bigger (and longer).

Get advance tickets before they’re gone. We’ll be sharing out the various contributors to the Carnival of Shipwreck here and elsewhere.

Carnival 2024 Theme: Shipwreck

Carnival is reversal. Carnival is release.

Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset worried, early in the 20th century, that the modern world's capacity to create culture in response to changing conditions had significantly eroded.

Life is shipwreck, he offered, and culture is the swimming stroke that keeps us from drowning.

However, over time, we become burdened by "parasitic and lymphatic matter" that threatens to pull us under and completely undermines our ability to adapt to changes that come. We develop techniques, institutions, and ways of thinking that we are hesitant to let go of because learning to swim again is scary and uncertain.

We look out for rescue with no guarantee that it will ever come.

Carnival of Shipwreck

Daytime Pass

Tue Oct 22, 2024 @ 02:00 pm

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: Carnival

This pass provides access to all of the exhibited work, talks, performances, and workshops but doesn't include the evening events.

Carnival of Shipwreck: Daytime Pass

Five days of provocations, performances, installations, ideas, music, dancing and many surprises.

Artists, workshops, performance lectures, and more will be announced over time.

What is Carnival?

Carnival of Shipwreck is UKAI’s celebration of being in the water.

Our culture did not evolve to deal with climate change or the explosion of artificial intelligence. The promise of a better future may no longer hold and as a result, too many cling to ideas of control and rescue. Groups of various political stripes are rediscovering their authoritarian impulses.

The accumulated institutions, routines, and assumptions that got us into this mess aren't likely to get us out of it.

We'll need to figure out other ways of being in the water and our work in 2024 has been an attempt to contribute in various ways to this effort. Carnival of Shipwreck is a celebration of this work and, more importantly, of those that made it.

What you can expect at Carnival of Shipwreck?

You can expect beauty and rage. You can expect direct, strange and embodied encounters with the changes underway. If we continue to turn sense-making over to ideologies, whether unreflectively internalized or forced upon us, we forego the work of making up our minds. To be answerable for what's coming, we will need to rediscover our capacity to make sense of the world.

Programmatically, you can expect a return to first principles and looking at artificial intelligence and ecological aesthetics with a weather eye to the future. We will be hosting workshops, performance lectures, provocations, performances, installations, and a lot of general weirdness and disorder.

And, as always, the main focus will be on music, dancing, release, reversal, friendship, and letting go so that we might return to the work renewed once Carnival season is concluded.

Last year we had over 350 folks come through and this year will be bigger (and longer).

Get advance tickets before they’re gone. We’ll be sharing out the various contributors to the Carnival of Shipwreck here and elsewhere.

Carnival 2024 Theme: Shipwreck

Carnival is reversal. Carnival is release.

Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset worried, early in the 20th century, that the modern world's capacity to create culture in response to changing conditions had significantly eroded.

Life is shipwreck, he offered, and culture is the swimming stroke that keeps us from drowning.

However, over time, we become burdened by "parasitic and lymphatic matter" that threatens to pull us under and completely undermines our ability to adapt to changes that come. We develop techniques, institutions, and ways of thinking that we are hesitant to let go of because learning to swim again is scary and uncertain.

We look out for rescue with no guarantee that it will ever come.

Carnival of Shipwreck

Thursday Pass

Thu Oct 24, 2024 @ 09:30 am

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: Carnival

Want to dip your toes into five days of provocations, performances, installations, ideas, music, dancing and many surprises?

Artists, workshops, performance lectures, and more will be announced over time. Get your pass before they're gone!

What is Carnival?

Carnival of Shipwreck is UKAI’s celebration of being in the water.

Our culture did not evolve to deal with climate change or the explosion of artificial intelligence. The promise of a better future may no longer hold and as a result, too many cling to ideas of control and rescue. Groups of various political stripes are rediscovering their authoritarian impulses.

The accumulated institutions, routines, and assumptions that got us into this mess aren't likely to get us out of it.

We'll need to figure out other ways of being in the water and our work in 2024 has been an attempt to contribute in various ways to this effort. Carnival of Shipwreck is a celebration of this work and, more importantly, of those that made it.

What you can expect at Carnival of Shipwreck?

You can expect beauty and rage. You can expect direct, strange and embodied encounters with the changes underway. If we continue to turn sense-making over to ideologies, whether unreflectively internalized or forced upon us, we forego the work of making up our minds. To be answerable for what's coming, we will need to rediscover our capacity to make sense of the world.

Programmatically, you can expect a return to first principles and looking at artificial intelligence and ecological aesthetics with a weather eye to the future. We will be hosting workshops, performance lectures, provocations, performances, installations, and a lot of general weirdness and disorder.

And, as always, the main focus will be on music, dancing, release, reversal, friendship, and letting go so that we might return to the work renewed once Carnival season is concluded.

Last year we had over 350 folks come through and this year will be bigger (and longer).

Get advance tickets before they’re gone. We’ll be sharing out the various contributors to the Carnival of Shipwreck here and elsewhere.

Carnival 2024 Theme: Shipwreck

Carnival is reversal. Carnival is release.

Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset worried, early in the 20th century, that the modern world's capacity to create culture in response to changing conditions had significantly eroded.

Life is shipwreck, he offered, and culture is the swimming stroke that keeps us from drowning.

However, over time, we become burdened by "parasitic and lymphatic matter" that threatens to pull us under and completely undermines our ability to adapt to changes that come. We develop techniques, institutions, and ways of thinking that we are hesitant to let go of because learning to swim again is scary and uncertain. We look out for rescue with no guarantee that it will ever come.

Carnival of Shipwreck

Friday Pass

Fri Oct 25, 2024 @ 09:30 am

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: Carnival

Provides access to all of the exhibited works, talks, performances, and workshops as well as the evening party on Friday, October 25, 2024.

Carnival of Shipwreck: Friday Pass


Looking to dip your toes into five days of provocations, performances, installations, ideas, music, dancing and many surprises? Friday is going to be a special day at Carnival!

Artists, workshops, performance lectures, and more will be announced over time. Get your pass before they're gone!

What is Carnival?

Carnival of Shipwreck is UKAI’s celebration of being in the water.

Our culture did not evolve to deal with climate change or the explosion of artificial intelligence. The promise of a better future may no longer hold and as a result, too many cling to ideas of control and rescue. Groups of various political stripes are rediscovering their authoritarian impulses.

The accumulated institutions, routines, and assumptions that got us into this mess aren't likely to get us out of it.

We'll need to figure out other ways of being in the water and our work in 2024 has been an attempt to contribute in various ways to this effort. Carnival of Shipwreck is a celebration of this work and, more importantly, of those that made it.

What you can expect at Carnival of Shipwreck?

You can expect beauty and rage. You can expect direct, strange and embodied encounters with the changes underway. If we continue to turn sense-making over to ideologies, whether unreflectively internalized or forced upon us, we forego the work of making up our minds. To be answerable for what's coming, we will need to rediscover our capacity to make sense of the world.

Programmatically, you can expect a return to first principles and looking at artificial intelligence and ecological aesthetics with a weather eye to the future. We will be hosting workshops, performance lectures, provocations, performances, installations, and a lot of general weirdness and disorder.

And, as always, the main focus will be on music, dancing, release, reversal, friendship, and letting go so that we might return to the work renewed once Carnival season is concluded.

Last year we had over 350 folks come through and this year will be bigger (and longer).

Get advance tickets before they’re gone. We’ll be sharing out the various contributors to the Carnival of Shipwreck here and elsewhere.

Carnival 2024 Theme: Shipwreck

Carnival is reversal. Carnival is release.

Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset worried, early in the 20th century, that the modern world's capacity to create culture in response to changing conditions had significantly eroded.

Life is shipwreck, he offered, and culture is the swimming stroke that keeps us from drowning.

However, over time, we become burdened by "parasitic and lymphatic matter" that threatens to pull us under and completely undermines our ability to adapt to changes that come. We develop techniques, institutions, and ways of thinking that we are hesitant to let go of because learning to swim again is scary and uncertain.

We look out for rescue with no guarantee that it will ever come.

Carnival of Shipwreck

Saturday Pass

Sat Oct 26, 2024 @ 10:00 am

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: Carnival

Provides access to all of the exhibited works, talks, performances, and workshops as well as the evening party on Saturday, October 26, 2024

Carnival of Shipwreck: Saturday Pass

Want to close out the Carnival and join for an intense day of provocations, performances, installations, ideas, music, dancing and many surprises? Get your Saturday pass now.

Artists, workshops, performance lectures, and more will be announced over time.

What is Carnival?

Carnival of Shipwreck is UKAI’s celebration of being in the water.

Our culture did not evolve to deal with climate change or the explosion of artificial intelligence. The promise of a better future may no longer hold and as a result, too many cling to ideas of control and rescue. Groups of various political stripes are rediscovering their authoritarian impulses.

The accumulated institutions, routines, and assumptions that got us into this mess aren't likely to get us out of it.

We'll need to figure out other ways of being in the water and our work in 2024 has been an attempt to contribute in various ways to this effort. Carnival of Shipwreck is a celebration of this work and, more importantly, of those that made it.

What you can expect at Carnival of Shipwreck?

You can expect beauty and rage. You can expect direct, strange and embodied encounters with the changes underway. If we continue to turn sense-making over to ideologies, whether unreflectively internalized or forced upon us, we forego the work of making up our minds. To be answerable for what's coming, we will need to rediscover our capacity to make sense of the world.

Programmatically, you can expect a return to first principles and looking at artificial intelligence and ecological aesthetics with a weather eye to the future. We will be hosting workshops, performance lectures, provocations, performances, installations, and a lot of general weirdness and disorder.

And, as always, the main focus will be on music, dancing, release, reversal, friendship, and letting go so that we might return to the work renewed once Carnival season is concluded.

Last year we had over 350 folks come through and this year will be bigger (and longer).

Get advance tickets before they’re gone. We’ll be sharing out the various contributors to the Carnival of Shipwreck here and elsewhere.

Carnival 2024 Theme: Shipwreck

Carnival is reversal. Carnival is release.

Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset worried, early in the 20th century, that the modern world's capacity to create culture in response to changing conditions had significantly eroded.

Life is shipwreck, he offered, and culture is the swimming stroke that keeps us from drowning.

However, over time, we become burdened by "parasitic and lymphatic matter" that threatens to pull us under and completely undermines our ability to adapt to changes that come. We develop techniques, institutions, and ways of thinking that we are hesitant to let go of because learning to swim again is scary and uncertain.

We look out for rescue with no guarantee that it will ever come.

AI for Arts and Culture Leaders

Comprehensive Program

Wed Nov 13, 2024 @ 10:00 am

Delivery: Online & In-Person

Event Type: Comprehensive Program

Get a sneak peek of our upcoming program, "AI for Arts and Culture Leaders," running from November 13 to February 21, 2025. This webinar will introduce participants to some key themes for arts administrators and leaders thinking about artificial intelligence (1 hour) and provide information and respond to questions about the forthcoming program (30 minutes).

“AI for Arts and Culture Leaders” is a comprehensive program, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, intended for arts and culture administrators eager to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on their sector and their day-to-day work.

The full program will feature a blend of online and in-person elements, including webinars, workshops, and discussions with experts. Participants will gain practical insights into the benefits and challenges of AI in arts administration, focusing on pragmatic solutions and strategies for digital transformation. The online portion of the program will run from November 13, 2024 to February 21, 2025 and the in-person intensive will be held in Toronto from February 4 to 7, 2025.

With a fee of $299 + HST, this program includes all necessary texts and materials, although travel and accommodation in Toronto are not covered. Enhance your ability to innovate and adapt in a digital cultural environment and prepare for the future of arts management.

Acknowledgement: UKAI Project’s nation-wide AI programming is made possible through the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

AI Workshop Series; Winnipeg

Wed Nov 20, 2024 @ 10:00 am

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: 1-day Workshop

This package includes all three workshop days - Finding your way with
AI, AI Art Intensive, and the AI Community Session and Poetics of
Synthetic Launch (and after-party).

See each of the individual program descriptions for more details or reach out to us at home@ukaiprojects.com

Finding your way with AI: Winnipeg

Wed Nov 20, 2024 @ 10:00 am

Delivery: in-person

Event Type: 1-day Workshop

A 1-day crash course for creators worried about being left behind.

"Finding Your Way with AI" is a 1-day workshop being delivered across Canada. It is designed to support creators and arts administrators who feel anxious about the rapid integration of AI into artistic practices. "Finding Your Way with AI" aims to demystify AI and help participants discover how they can harness and respond to this technology to enhance their creative processes.

The full-day workshop is structured to encourage a deep and thoughtful exploration of AI's role in artistic practice, emphasizing practical, real-world applications.

At UKAI Projects, our broader mission is to question dominant narratives and explore alternative ways of understanding and interacting with the world. By offering this series of workshops, we aim to equip artists with the tools to navigate the evolving landscape of AI in a way that aligns with their idiosyncratic practices and resists the homogenizing tendencies of centralized technological control .

Winnipeg Workshop Series Schedule

  • Finding your Way with AI: November 20, 2024
  • AI Art Intensive: November 21, 2024
  • AI Community Event and Poetics of Synthetic Language Book Launch: November 22, 2024

Participation Fee:

  • $35 for one day
  • $75 for all three days at your location (Finding your Way with AI, AI Art Intensive, and AI Community Event)

Acknowledgement: UKAI Project’s nation-wide AI programming is made possible through the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.