Generative Art is art that is created through the use of rules, systems, algorithms and processes of construction. It has a long history but is most prominently associated with the use of computers in artmaking. The goal of New Generations is to introduce artists and young people to the ideas and tools used to create generative art. The project is based in Leicester and has commissioned three local artists to create new generative artwork. As part of its programme is has run artist mentoring sessions, hosted young-person workshops, is running a two-week generative art exhibition and will conclude with a live event. Particular attention is being paid to past generative art associated with Leicester and exhibited in the Leicester Computer Art Pioneers exhibition. If you want to know more about generative art then please read our About Generative Art primer.

In November 2023 two calls for participation were made. The first was for Leicester-based artists to become involved in the commissioned artist programme. Three participants were selected  - Paul Mazzitelli, Khush Kali and Leonie DuBarry-Gurr. As part of their involvement, the artists agree to join an intensive four-day workshop in early January and produce new artwork for the New Generations exhibition to be held soon after. A second call was made internationally for artists to contribute to the exhibition only.

A four-day workshop involving the three commissioned Leicester artists was held between 3rd and 7th of January 2024. The first two days were held at the Computer Arts Archive in Leicester. The artists were shown a wide range of pioneering generative artwork and provided with insights into the nature of the works by the project mentor and Computer Arts Archive curator Sean Clark. These sessions were followed by two days in the Lightbox Gallery at the LCB Depot, where a selection of original artworks from the archive were installed as "context pieces" for the subsequent exhibition. The commissioned artists then worked to develop their new generative artworks of their own. Following the second two days of the workshop, the artists then had four more days to complete their new work ready for an exhibition opening on the 12th of January 2024.

Artist Workshop Photographs on Google Photos

Exhibition Set-up Photographs on Google Photos

Artworks from the Commissioned Artists

The three commissioned Leicester-based artists - Leonie DuBarry-Gurr, Khush Kali and Paul Mazzitelli - each produced a new artwork for the exhibition.

Artworks from the Open Call

The gallery also contained artwork by Dave Everitt, Fania Raczinski, Mateus Domingos, Karen Hazelton, Alp Tuğan, Disinformation and Sean Clark. Additional artworks could be seen on a video showreel in the café area. 

Artworks from the Computer Arts Archive

Historic artwork from the Computer Arts Archive by Desmond P Henry,  Harold Cohen, Stephen Bell, Brian Reffin Smith and Stephen Scrivener are included in the exhibition as "context pieces".

The window vinyl for the New Generations exhibition at the Lightbox Gallery in the LCB Depot features images of artworks by three artists from the Leicester Computer Art Pioneers exhibition - Dominic Boreham (left), Sean Clark (middle) and Ernest Edmonds (right).

Second Saturday is the LCB Depot's monthly arts and creativity event for  young-people. For the first Second Saturday of 2024, we ran a drop-in workshop that allowed attendees to create their own digital artwork using the Scratch programming language and then print it as a sticker.

At the Last Friday food and entertainment event at LCB Depot on Friday 26th January, the project hosted an evening of talks and performances relating to the New Generations exhibition. The evening began with a tour of the exhibition by Sean Clark.

Last Friday Photographs on Google Photos

Over the weekend of the 27th and 28th of January, Sean Clark and Khush Kali delivered an Arts Award workshop about generative art-making at Phoenix in Leicester. The workshop made use of pen, paper and dice, as well as the Scratch programming language.

Workshop Photographs on Google Photos