Arno Coenen
Arno Coenen graduated from Academie Minerva in Groningen in 1997 and obtained an MFA in computer graphics at Media-GN, Groningen, a year later. Coenen employs a diverse range of media, including video, 3D animation, laser cutting technology, and more traditional crafts such as
stained glass and mosaics. His projects consistently rely on computational technologies, and his work often resonates with contemporary subcultures, youth culture, and popular culture. Many prestigious institutions, including LIMA and the Dutch Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, have collected Coenen's work. His 2014 piece, 'Horn of Plenty,' garnered international acclaim. This 11,000 square meter digital image adorns the inner facades of the Rotterdam Markthal. The renowned artwork Oersoep in the Amsterdam Beurspassage is another beloved art project that Coenen helped bring to fruition, in 2016.
Rodger Werkhoven
Rodger Werkhoven graduated from the HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht) in 1993 with a BA in Arts, specialising in Image and Media Technologies. He’s worked with design and advertising companies like DDB, Ogilvy, BBDO, McCann, Havas, Dentsu, and WPP to name a few, and won his clients awards at festivals like The Cannes Lions (Integrated Lion and Cyber Lion). Spring 2022, he was invited by OpenAI to experiment with their AI, to help its developers improve the model, leading to the successful launch of DALL•E 2, which was the blueprint for ChatGPT’s successful launch later. Werkhoven currently serves as the Executive Creative Director of the Amsterdam office of iO Digital (12 offices in 5 countries). In this role, he advises brands on how to implement AI tech creatively, responsibly. He also advises other AI initiatives, resulting in innovative AI-enabled applications such as D-ID's Creative Reality (AI animation) Studio.
C0̷11@BorAi+oR⚡
C0̷11@BorAi+oR⚡ Both Coenen and Werkhoven have extensive careers in autonomous and applied art, spanning several decades. Arno and Rodger first met in the early 1990s when Coenen was a pioneering CGI VJ blending analog and digital art forms in the underground art scene, and Werkhoven was an underground Electro DJ experimenting with electronic music and generative image creation. They frequently encountered each other in the experimental art scenes of Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam.
Spring 2022, Werkhoven, then as independent creative director serving OpenAI, introduced Coenen to the San Francisco-based Artificial Intelligence research labs. Soon after, Coenen and Werkhoven co-founded CollaborAitors as the platform for their AI-driven art collaborations. In 2023 CollaborAitors won at the prestigious 69th Oberhausen International Short Film Festival with 'Let's be Friends', the World's first AI-generated, AI-animated and AI-narrated short film ever.
Automata With Pearl Earrings
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PORTR•AI•TS OF PRIDE
Premiere: Dead End Gallery, Amsterdam Pride, 05 08 2023
PORTR•AI•TS OF PRIDE is a pioneering AI-art project conceived by the award winning c0̷11@BorAi+oR⚡art collective, co-founded by internationally renowned Dutch artist Arno Coenen and Rodger Werkhoven, Executive Creative Director at iO. This project employs the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to address the painful void in the vast oeuvres of the Netherlands' old masters — the absence of same gender love.
