Aberrant Creativity
An International Juried Exhibition on Human Creativity and Artificial Intelligence
Exhibition Details
Exhibition Dates
Aug. 25-Oct. 17, 2026
Location
The Arts Center of Brazos Valley
Opening Reception
Friday, Aug. 28, 2026 | 5-7 p.m.
Special Performance/Demonstration
Wednesday, Sept. 16 | 5-7 p.m.
Closing Event
Wednesday, Oct. 14 | 5-7 p.m.
Join Us
Join us for “Aberrant Creativity,” an international juried exhibition presented by the Institute for Applied Creativity in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at Texas A&M University, in partnership with the Arts Center of Brazos Valley.
Featuring 35 artists from 14 countries across five continents, the exhibition explores how contemporary artists are redefining the relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence through experimentation, critical inquiry and creative collaboration. Visitors will encounter works that challenge conventional ideas of authorship, imagination and machine intelligence while responding to this year’s theme, “Human as Inspiration.”
Celebrate the exhibition at the opening reception on Friday, Aug. 28 from 5 to 7 p.m., where awards will be announced, followed by an opening performance. Light refreshments will be served. Throughout the exhibition, visitors are also invited to attend a special performance/demonstration on Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. and the closing event on Oct. 14 at 5 p.m.
About the Exhibition
“Aberrant Creativity” offers a space for inquiry rather than certainty. Instead of simply celebrating or rejecting generative AI, the exhibition invites artists and audiences to critically engage with its creative possibilities, contradictions and consequences.
Drawing on philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s concept of the machine as a site of becoming and experimentation, the exhibition explores AI as collaborator, provocateur, medium and foil. The featured works investigate shared authorship between humans and machines while questioning agency, intention, originality and the evolving nature of artistic practice.
Inspired by J.C.R. Licklider’s vision of “Man-Computer Symbiosis,” this year’s exhibition asks us to imagine a future — and recognize a present — in which human imagination, emotion and experience become the creative wellspring for machine intelligence. Rather than viewing AI as an autonomous creator, the exhibition considers how machines are shaped by human presence, responding to us, reflecting us and even dreaming with us.
2026 Theme: “Human as Inspiration”
Visitors are invited into a world where artists experiment responsibly with embodiment and subversion, invention and hacking, collaboration and community, revealing new possibilities at the intersection of human creativity and machine intelligence.
Exhibition Highlights
- Three invited artists
- 32 selected artists from an international juried competition
- Artists representing 14 countries across five continents
Invited Artists
Philippe Pasquier
Professor of Interactive Arts and Technology
Avital Meshi
New media and performance artist
Golan Levin
Professor of Electronic ArtFeatured Artists/Projects
- Fractured Star ProjectionsAaron Oldenburg
- Artificial NostalgiaAddy Feuerstein
- FELIX – A Computer Program for the Study of Smooth and Striated SpacesAllen Riley
- The Wound Becomes The MedicineAmy Muhoro
- SHECarolyn Rabbers
- Nursing HomeChi Kiu So
- Gazelle with GrapefruitEzra Cove
- ever.raveGianluca Iadema
- Most Dangerous GameIan O’Neill
- De Krypten avatar. (Liberate your avatar from yourself)Ilias Marmaras
- Neural MONOBLOC BlackImmanuel Koh
- Cabinet of Cognition, Derek CurryJennifer Gradecki
- Eye and Mind: Human-Human / Human-AI Drawing SculpturesJeong Han Kim
- My LifeJie Shuai
- Poetry RiverJie Shuai
- Lights OutKaitlyn Jo Smith
- Intimate StrangersKenneth Russo
- Good FormLucas Kuzma
- The Paradox of This WarMaa Kuu
- Unrendered ChildhoodMax Mesiats
- Casper Zebrafish [expanded]Michael Takeo Magruder
- Nihil³Nicol Eltzroth Rosendorf
- In the Absence of SightRiver Zhihui Zhang
- Cortical WhispersRobin Champenois
- Gothic DiffusionSabri Gökmen
- Sirena, Last approachesSantiago Pucacco
- Uncanny Squiggle -sketches-Scott Allen
- CLOWNShanshan Jiang
- The 1000 Names of MacskuszVeronika Szücs & Maximilian Noichl
- Samples from the Reptilian CoreVeronika Szücs
- The FlowerYamin Xu
- Pupils of Perception: A Visual Voyage into the Fragile X MindYuting Cheng and Jiashu Yang
Visit the Exhibition
The Arts Center of Brazos Valley
4180 Texas 6 Frontage Road
College Station, Texas 77845
Gallery Hours
- Monday-Friday
10 a.m.-5 p.m. - Saturday
10 a.m.-4 p.m. - Closed Sunday
About the Organizers
The Institute for Applied Creativity is a forum for collaboration among domains and disciplines intent on creating a radiant future. We champion combinations of experimental, rational, intuitive and analytical methods to realize tangible accomplishments. The inherent creativity of individuals, the deep knowledge within disciplinary practice and research and the rapid pace of transformation in society collectively contribute to an institute that exercises iterative, regenerative and nimble practices.
With a technology-infused foundation, the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts was created to bring together visual arts, performing arts, interactive media, visual computing and humanities. It’s for those who love to explore new ways of seeing the world and who understand the magic that can happen when beauty and technology merge. Leading the way are faculty and staff with significant experience working at the intersection of theory and practice across the arts, sciences and technology. This is home for actors, animators, musicians, dancers, composers, choreographers, painters, game designers, ethnomusicologists, art historians, costume designers, virtual production specialists and more.
The Arts Center of Brazos Valley, a nonprofit organization chartered in 1970 by a group of visionary local arts patrons, was established to lead local arts advocacy and cultivate a vibrant arts community. Over 50 years later, the Arts Center now serves the 5,000-square-mile Brazos Valley region. Since 2008, it has provided over $4 million in direct funding support to arts organizations throughout the area.
Governed by a board of community leaders, the Arts Center faithfully serves as the leading advocate for arts and culture in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson and Washington counties. It provides innovative and impactful artistic opportunities for both residents and visitors of the region.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns, please email artfestival@tamu.edu.