King's College London

King’s hosted the inaugural AI Art Challenge Awards Ceremony on 19th February 2025, where two winners were announced at a live celebration. The event, held at Science Gallery London, brought together students, staff and external experts to celebrate creativity and reflection at the intersection of technology and art.

This unique competition, in collaboration of the London School of Economics (LSE) and sponsored by The King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence, invited undergraduate students from both institutions to explore their creative potential augmented by Generative AI. Participants were tasked with creating visual or audio-visual art pieces using AI tools, reflecting on the central theme of AI and responsible use. The challenge encouraged students to delve into questions such as:

• What does responsible (or irresponsible) AI use look like in today’s world?
• How can AI shape the future for the better, and what are the potential risks?
• What is the relationship between humans and technology in the age of AI?
• How does AI challenge the role of traditional art?

The competition, which ran between October and December 2024, saw an impressive array of entries from across both institutions. Of all the entries, just ten ‘artefacts’ were selected to compete for the top prize at the awards ceremony, five from each institution.

The event exhibited all shortlisted artworks and featured presentations from the four judges, all experts external to King’s and LSE:

Maitrayee Basu (Lecturer, Race and Media, University of Leeds)
Lois Blackwell (Lecturer, Interior Design, Manchester Metropolitan University)
Matt Bond (Theatre Director and Producer - Director, PlayAI)
Maria Than (Creative Technologist, Artist, Co-founder of Ricebox Studio and Lecturer at University of the Arts London (UAL)

The ceremony culminated in the announcement of two exceptional winners, one from each institution, each recognised for their adherence to the criteria and central theme.

• Ayomikun Adeoluwa Davies (King’s) was awarded for her piece exploring ‘Can AI be responsbile for archiving culture’, where she experimented with Generative AI to analyse and reproduce images of Yoruba culture, specifically her mother in traditional Aso Oke bridal attire.
• Nurisabela Amira Shah (LSE) was awarded for Sentuhan Manusia (Human Touch), a thought-provoking piece that explored how AI serves as a tool for human creativity rather than a replacement for it, submitting a piece that consisted of two distinct paintings – one AI generated, and one hand painted.

Beyond the winners, the ceremony also celebrated all shortlisted students, whose ‘art’ reflected a range of diverse perspectives, themes and concepts.

Shortlisted students:

King’s

• Ayomikun Adeoluwa Davies
• Rophi Denish Condor
• Ruyi Cheng
• Sade Graham
• Sing Him Ho

LSE

• Fela Callahan
• Jinyue Chen
• Ike Ezeanyika
• Archie Martin
• Nurisabela Amira Shah

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Emma Taylor (Lecturer – King’s Academy), praised the participants for their inspiring contributions:

"I’m truly impressed by the creativity and thoughtfulness displayed by both the winners and all the shortlisted nominees. This challenge has been a fantastic opportunity to bring together students and staff, collaborating across institutions to explore such a timely and important topic. I hope this is just the beginning of many more events like this across the sector”.

As AI continues to evolve, King’s remains at the forefront of exploring its potential and use in higher education. King’s Academy has recently completed a comprehensive Generative AI guidance project for both students and staff. Its aim is to ensure students are able to complete their studies responsibly and with integrity and be equipped to enter a world increasingly impacted by these emergent technologies, and for staff to adopt and integrate generative AI at different institutional levels. Find out more about the AI Art Challenge here.