March 13, 2026–January 17, 2027
Umeå 903 33
Sweden
Bildmuseet is pleased to announce the opening of the major international exhibition AI and the Paradox of Agency on March 13, 2026. Featuring a number of new commissions, the exhibition showcases the results of artists' research in relation to the question of who or what has agency—or decision-making power—when it comes to humanity’s entanglement with artificial intelligence systems.
The paradox in the exhibition title refers to the confusing situation society finds itself in, where the rapid and often uncritical adoption of AI technologies disproportionately benefits and empowers those who control the technology, often more than those who use it. In the exhibition, agency is looked at from other perspectives such as from the natural world or an imagined future.
Artists: boredomresearch, Tega Brain, Dennis Delgado, Linda Dounia Rebeiz, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Nicolas Gourault, Zeno Gries, Lawrence Lek, Rachel Maclean, Stephen Marche, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Florian Model, Yuri Pattison, Planetary Portals, Raqs Media Collective, Daniel Shanken, Caroline Sinders & Romy Gad el Rab, Paola Torres Núñez del Prado, and Addie Wagenknecht.
Curated by WASP-HS Guest Professor Sarah Cook and Bildmuseet’s Director Katarina Pierre, AI and the Paradox of Agency shows how artists play a critical role in questioning how society might adapt to new technologies and how artists' work can shape humanities thinking about a future with AI. A book accompanying the exhibition, edited by Sarah Cook and featuring interviews with the artists, will be launched during the period.
AI and the Paradox of Agency is produced by Bildmuseet at Umeå University with support from the Jacob Wallenberg Foundation and WASP–HS (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society), funded by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation.
With thanks to UmArts, Curiosum and TAIGA at Umeå University, the University of Glasgow, and the Fleck Fellowship program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
