In a world that is increasingly recognizing the importance of environmental stewardship, visionary leaders like Roth, founder and CEO of the AZULIK group, which includes SFER IK Museion, are harnessing the power of innovative technologies to pave the way for a more conscious future with nature at the forefront.
Together, with SFER IK’s Creative Director Marcello Dantas, Roth has launched The SFER IK Award, a new award for artists to create a work using artificial intelligence. The winning artist will receive $100,000 USD to develop their AI-integrated artwork, as well as a two-month residency with access to on-site resources at AZULIK Uh May—a sprawling creative campus with several workshops, local artisans, and a suite of new digital facilities called FabLab. Art residencies will also be offered to second- and third-prize winners.
The award is open to international artists from all disciplines to create an AI-integrated work addressing themes of biodiversity, interspecies collaboration, ancestral knowledge, and the harmonious integration of science, technology, and nature. The purpose of the open call is to create an opportunity for artists to generate new and daring artworks that will expand the boundaries of technology and their artistic practices within the natural environment of the Mayan jungle. The winning artwork will ultimately be showcased at SFER IK’s upcoming open-air museum in Tulum, close to the Jardín de la Esperanza (Garden of Hope), an artistic natural space currently under development by artist Cristina Ochoa that will be a sanctuary of biodiversity and ancestral memory.
ARTnews spoke with Roth to gain insight into the vision behind the award and his hopes for the winning artists.
Tell us about the new award. Why AI specifically?
The winning artist’s work will be presented in a new SFER IK Museum, located in the heart of Tulum on 30 acres of jungle and 200 meters from the sea. The work will use artificial intelligence and be inspired by ancient intelligence and nature.
AI should be understood as “natural,” as the artworks are being created by human hands and minds. Through AI, we encourage artists to explore and interact with nature, considering ways to coexist symbiotically in the jungle.
What do you hope artists will take away from participating in the residency at SFER IK?
By inviting artists to create their work in the middle of the jungle, we hope they will be inspired and transformed by the environment and have the chance to intervene in the landscape. The artists will have access to AZULIK’s new FabLab and FabMat facilities in the middle of this natural space, where cutting-edge technologies work alongside the trees.
In the jungle, it is crystal clear that everything affects everything. We are all part of the entirety, and solutions are only found when everyone can participate. The jungle can provide great lessons for artists, as it does for all of us who live here.
Artists can submit proposals until November 17 by visiting sferik.art/award.