AIS Discussion #1 | The Intersection of AI & Art | May 1st | 5:30pm - 7:30pm

The Intersection of AI & Art

AIS Discussion #1

May 1st, 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Featuring Artists Dean Davis & Anna Le, facilitated by Jen Erickson

This event is free and open to the public as a part of our annual Artist Incubator Series. 

Artists and art lovers within the community are invited to join this open discussion with Jen Erickson, Dean Davis, and Anna Le about how the rise in popularity of AI is impacting artists. 

Please RSVP if you plan on attending.

About the Artists

Anna Le

Anna Le is a multimedia artist working with video art, performance, installation, painting, and sculpture, with technology as a central tool in her practice. Her work explores how the human mind and body interact with digital environments, shaped by her deep interest in philosophy and psychology. She is particularly curious about how technology shapes perception, imagination, behavior, and identity - questions rooted in her enduring desire to understand what it means to be human and why we exist. 

Anna views art as a living, evolving system. Rejecting static representation, she embraces the fluidity of creation as an ongoing process of becoming. Her ritualistic approach to art-making often draws on psychological frameworks to access unconscious material through dreams, fantasies, and desires - practices she sees as essential for understanding the whole self. 

By blending traditional craft with creative coding, Anna investigates how technology can both extend and disrupt our sense of self. Her work also raises ethical questions about current technological systems, positioning art as a space for expanding consciousness. For Anna, this is a vital act - one that holds the potential to reimagine a more transformative society and a sustainable future. 

Anna earned her BFA in New Media Arts from the University of North Texas and will complete her MFA at Washington State University in May 2025. She is a PhD candidate in Fine Art at Texas Tech University, where she will begin her doctoral studies in August 2025.

Dean Davis

Dean Davis is a seasoned commercial photographer based in Spokane, Washington, with nearly 30 years behind the lens and more than 100 American Advertising Awards to show for it. His work spans hydroelectric dams, hospitals, banks, historic homes, and universities - basically, if it needs to look polished, powerful, and purposeful, Dean's your guy. Known for his clean, bold imagery, Dean uses AI the way a master carpenter uses a nail gun: to work smarter, not lazier. He still believes the best images come from a good eye, great light, and being in the right place - often at 5 a.m. - with a fully charged battery and a backup plan.