Harvard Art Museums Tested Out Using Generative AI to Animate 18th-Century Painting as Part of Marketing Campaign

The Harvard Art Museums, a consortium of three institutions in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tested out a marketing campaign aimed at increasing visitor engagement and membership that makes use of generative AI in order to animate a 18th-century painting in its collection. With this marketing goal, Connolly says, “The goal here was to use AI to bring people closer to art basically. The Harvard Art Museums’ collection holds over 250,000 objects, and it reopened in 2014 after a renovation that brought all three institutions under one roof. “Price is a barrier when we’re talking about accessibility,” Connolly adds. De Freitas adds, “Now this isn’t just an artwork that exists several centuries ago that’s stiff and unapproachable, but it’s talking to me in an accent and I can ask it questions.