The MAK Museum of Applied Arts highlights AI, technology, and speculative narratives in a new exhibition

A new, timely exhibition at the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna is taking a closer look at the technological developments pushing architecture and design into new territory in the past decade using a variety of different relevant media.

From May 10–September 10, 2023, visitors can experience,  /imagine: A Journey into The New Virtual , an exhibition divided into a series of four overlapping sections: Research Investigations, Speculative Narratives and Worldbuilding, AI and Algorithmic Variation, and Dreamscapes firsthand. The goal of the exhibition is to "presents a wide range of works that create new narratives, perspectives and possibilities for action in virtual space that can continue in physical reality."

Curators Bika Rebek (architect and founder of Some Place Studio) and Marlies Wirth (Curator of MAK Collection design) say: “By envisioning new ways of building and designing in virtual space that may not yet be feasible or realistic, the projects presented in this exhibition push the boundaries of the built environment, creating new narratives, perspectives, and agency in virtual space that may continue into physical reality.”

The exhibition is keen to include new AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Midjourney which have become popular topics of discussion and debate in architectural circles of late. The exhibition features work from designers, architects, technologies, and educators like Chris Precht, Miriam Hillawi Abraham, Liam Young, Jose Sanchez, and Leah Wulfman, to name a few. 

Also participating in the exhibition are SPAN Architects' co-founders Matias del Campo and Sandra Manninger, along with filmmaker, visual artist, and educator Kordae Henry. All three are collaborators in the Archinect In-Depth: Artificial Intelligence series. On May 22, an AI-focused interview and discussion with del Campo was published discussing ChatGPT and its various applications while Manninger and Henry are participating as jurors in Archinect's Generative Futures: An AI + Architecture Storytelling Challenge.

Rebek, Some Place Studio, and Cameron Lintott all contributed to the vividly-colored design of the exhibition, which runs until the 10th of September. All texts and information on the exhibited works will be available on the project website: thenewvirtual.org.