Calender

Will rankings and AI replace experts’ judgment?

Talk with Marek Claassen, founder of artfacts.net, and Carsten Probst, art critic and Vice President of AICA Germany, and Ludwig Seyfarth.

Artfacts.net, founded in 2001 by Stine Albertsen and Marek Claassen, is an online platform that introduces itself on its website as follows: "Artfacts harnesses the power of data and technology to organise and understand the art market. Our database helps people navigate the ever-changing art world landscape." When art market developments are made recordable, presentable and understandable by algorithms, this does not imply any judgement on the content or quality of artworks. But can the achievements of institutions and curators also be meaningfully formalised and quantified using digital tools? Marek Claassen explains how data from the art world is processed at artfacts.net. In conversation with Carsten Probst, it will be discussed whether art criticism can benefit from this and whether there is a risk that judgements about art will be made by artificial intelligence in the future.

with Susanne Bürner (artist and publisher Monroe Books, Berlin), Dr Karin Lingl (Managing Director Stiftung Kunstfonds, Bonn) and Gerhard Theewen (publisher Salon Verlag & Edition, Cologne)

Moderation: Dr Eva Schmidt (former director of the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen, Member of the Board of Trustees of the ARTHENA FOUNDATION) and Ludwig Seyfarth (curatorial direction KAI 10)

How are monographic publications and artists' books created? How are they published and distributed? What funding opportunities are available? And how is the significance of carefully designed, printed books changing alongside easily produced and downloadable digital formats?

The panel discussion will take place on the occasion of the Publish Now! publication grant, which the ARTHENA FOUNDATION awards for the first time. The two funded projects will be announced at the end of March 2024.