Belfast Exposed Holds 22 July AI Art Debate After 9-Artist Show Sparks Backlash

1 articles · Updated · Creative Bloq · Aug 3

Belfast Exposed moved the dispute into public view by issuing a 22 July statement and, two days later, hosting an "AI, Art and Society" panel on the backlash to AI-generated works in its Ulster University MFA exhibition.
Johnny Sheridan's AI image series became the flashpoint because it was presented in a photography gallery as finished work made with general-purpose generative tools trained on scraped, uncredited material, critics say.
Deirdre Robb defended the work as satirical and argued galleries should show provocative art, but artists and online campaigners called the display "AI slop," demanded its removal and apology, and urged a boycott.
Other AI exhibitions have largely avoided similar rows by using custom datasets, framing AI as a subject of study, or treating the output as participatory satire rather than finished gallery art.