New High-Tech Art Piece Coming to Underground Atlanta Will Be the First of its Kind in the World
The Pillars Project at Underground. Image via undergroundatl.com.
Underground Atlanta is about to receive a first-of-its-kind, high-tech art installation.
WRS, the developer overseeing urban renewal projects in Underground, announced earlier this week it’s partnered with non-profit Urban Catalyst Lab to install an Interne- of-Things (IoT) and Artificial-Intelligence- (AI) based art installation on the property, according to project materials. The piece will be built and installed by both local and global artists and will be the first IoT- and AI-based art installation of its type in the world.
“The sculpture will be cutting edge, embedding pioneer IoT and machine learning to provide much-needed data about the impact of the installation to urban resilience and sustainability,” Christophe Choquart, CFO of Urban Catalyst Lab, said in a statement.
The lab has put together a team of artists committed to the idea of art-as-a-solution for a resilient and equitable city, program materials indicate. Plans for the installation will be unveiled at a launch event on Tuesday, May 14 at Underground. The names of the three Atlanta-based artists and two global artists working on the project will also be announced at that time.
“We salute WRS’ openness to our progressive vision of elevating art-as-a-solution and positioning Atlanta as the city of new art. Together with three Atlanta-based artists, and two from Africa and Cuba (Afro Cuban), we invite the entire community of Atlanta to participate in creating a permanent art installation that captures Atlanta’s identity – its heritage, present, and future,” Ruxanda Renita, CEO of Urban Catalyst Lab, said in a statement. “We are excited to be working with WRS and Cultivating Cultures in broadening the perception of people-private-public partnerships.”
Installation of the sculpture will begin in 2020 on Lower Alabama Street, program materials indicate. The piece will be constantly evolving, and will be powered by proprietary IoT and AI technology, collecting and measuring data in real-time and using that information to alter the way it displays itself to the community.
“Following the success of the Pillars Project at Underground, we worked alongside the team at Cultivating Cultures to envision an installation that would generate an even stronger sense of culture and collaboration,” Scott Smith, CEO of WRS said in a statement. “The Pillars Project represents togetherness, diversity and inclusivity, and Urban Catalyst Lab’s art installation is set to extend the conversation around those values even further. We are happy to support an initiative that is not only forward-thinking but also, and most importantly, community-driven. This art installation will live beyond the streets of Underground for years to come.”