Set to open at The Grand LA in Los Angeles in 2025, DATALAND will stand as the world’s first museum dedicated to the display of images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), commonly referred to as “AI art.” Though AI-generated works are controversial among many artists, museum co-founder Refik Anadol aims to push the boundaries of data-driven visuals with the opening of DATALAND.
A Museum for AI Art
As one of the most prominent figures in AI art today, Anadol envisions a place for generated images in public galleries, art installations, and digital repositories. However, the medium faces significant resistance, ranging from concerns over limiting human creativity to ethical problems of unpermitted data use. Regardless of these issues, Anadol is using DATALAND as a place for AI art to find a home, a place where both human and machine can advance a controversial artistic vision.
Finding Connections Between Human and Machine
Alongside Anadol is painter and performance artist Efsun Erkılıç, who co-founded both the Refik Anadol Studio and DATALAND. Her expertise in project management and global multidisciplinary collaborations will be integral to the success of the new museum, and it doesn’t hurt that her current work joins notions of mystical journeys with perceived connections between human and machine.
“DATALAND is a place where human creativity meets innovation,” Erkılıç said, “transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. We are creating 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.”
DATALAND and The Grand LA
The Grand LA is a mixed-use development in the heart of Los Angeles’ cultural corridor, part of a broader project aimed at revitalizing the city’s downtown cultural and civic center. The Grand Avenue Project incorporates retail, residential, artistic, and public spaces flanked by pieces of iconic architecture. The project will feature The Broad Museum, the Colburn School of Music, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Anadol’s DATALAND.
“The Grand was always envisioned as a place that would complement and connect its neighboring world-class cultural institutions for generations to come,” said Related California’s Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Vanderbloom, “and there’s no better way to realize that mission than by welcoming a future-forward AI arts museum from the mind of Refik Anadol.”
A New Direction for the Art Community
While controversial, DATALAND is something completely new for both its co-founders and the rest of the art community. It isn’t only meant to showcase modern AI-generated images, but Anadol and Erkılıç imagine the space as one that will invite all future art forms into a dynamic community hub. The museum is committed to the city, and so is Anadol.
“Los Angeles has long been a city that embraces the future through art, music, cinema, architecture, and more, making it a fitting home for DATALAND,” Anadol stated. “Opening it in a building designed by one of my heroes, Frank Gehry, feels almost unreal.”
Anadol’s Works and LNM AI
When DATALAND opens, it will feature Anadol’s works, many of which are currently located in other galleries. Some of these include Living Architecture: Casa Batlló, currently located at the very same building by Antoni Gaudí; Machine Hallucinations, currently located at The Sphere in Las Vegas; Living Paintings, currently located at the Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in Los Angeles; and more.
Rather than a direct presentation, Anadol’s works will be expressed through the Refik Anadol Studio’s “Large Nature Model” (LNM), developed specifically for DATALAND. This LNM AI model is trained using open-access data from various institutions, including the Smithsonian and London’s Natural History Museum.
DATALAND as a Challenge
DATALAND is a challenge to the current artistic landscape and a question of how humans and machines will become blurred in the future. Set in Los Angeles, the museum promises to explore new directions for art through immersive installations.
