Dataland: Where Does Human Imagination Meet Machine Intelligence?
New developments available on the world’s first AI arts museum
Earlier this year I announced1 a new client I am working with: Refik Anadol Studio for his new initiative Dataland. To refresh, Dataland will be the world’s first museum dedicated to AI arts. Today we are releasing more information about this ambitious project. Dataland will open its doors in Los Angeles next year. Refik and his team have long been exploring the intersection of data, machine learning, and artistic expression. So, Dataland is both a natural progression and a radical evolution of this creative inquiry.
Where and why in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles has always been forward looking in its approach to art, architecture, and culture. From Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner to Spike Jonze’s Her LA has been the backdrop and muse for futurist provocations. Refik is another forward looking visionary where Los Angeles has been his spring board. I previously spoke about our shared experience at UCLA’s Design Media Arts program. Refik also created works in LA that launched his career. Over the last 10 years he has collaborated with the LA Philharmonic on a variety of projection mapped pieces. Right across the street from the Philharmonic is where Dataland will open in 2025: in the new Frank Gehry designed tower, The Grand LA.
Dataland at The Grand LA joins the likes of the Broad, MOCA, the Music Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, REDCAT, and the Colburn School to define downtown Los Angeles as the cultural anchor of Southern California. The 20,000 square foot space will boast four galleries.2 And the studio is partnering with architecture firm Gensler and global sustainable development consultancy Arup. As cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer puts it, “We are building a visionary museum that redefines learning and community, igniting the human spirit and fueling a journey into the beauty of our collective memories – the world of data.”
What else can you share?
The inaugural set of work that will be shown at Dataland will be powered by the Large Nature Model.3 This is an AI model trained on roughly 500 million nature artifacts from leading cultural and natural science institutions like the Smithsonian and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I have been working with the Large Nature Model for a version that can be accessed through Dataland’s website. The volume of the data that drives this model is staggering and I hope to present the public with a digital experience that is both accessible and sufficiently complex to illustrate what the AI model does and can do for you.
As part of an effort to support the museum, increase awareness, and involve the community until the doors open, we are soft launching the Dataland store online. There are a mix of apparel and gift related items worth checking out that have both the Dataland logo and the coordinates of The Grand LA, where the museum will open its doors.
As we move closer to the official opening, the website will continue to release new features. You will hear about them on this newsletter periodically. I know it sounds vague, but these features represent the breadth and ambition of Dataland. They are the aspects of this initiative that I am most excited to share, get feedback, and discuss with you. They differentiate Dataland from other contemporary galleries and immersive experiences. They are the natural progression of Refik’s practice and a radicle evolution of what we should expect from museums.
This is, in part, why it takes so long to build,
—Jono
Large Nature Model (LNM). Dataland Website.