BADAMON.IA: CVC & Épica La Fura dels Baus trained a model for “Crema’l tu!” Badalona contest

Overview

BADAMONIA is an exciting project that explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and creativity can work together. This project is a team effort by the Computer Vision Center (CVC), the Épica Foundation La Fura dels Baus, and Col·legi Badalonès. As part of the 25th anniversary of Badalona’s Crema’l Tu contest, the project aims to design a Dimoni for the 2024 May Festival using AI trained on drawings from students at Col·legi Badalonès. It also encourages discussions about the ethical use of these technologies.

CVC Collaboration

CVC collaborated with the Épica Foundation and Col·legi Badalonès to design a proposal for the Crema'l Tu! contest. This contest selects the design of the Dimoni that will be burned in Badalona on the Night of St. Anastasis on May 10. The submitted design resulted from training an AI with more than 500 demon pictures drawn by students.

The BADAMON.IA exhibition

BADAMON.IA is the exhibition showing the results of this creative and technological experiment. From November 2023 to February 2024, the project aimed to design a Dimoni for the 2024 Badalona May Festival through teamwork between humans and AI. The exhibition features 595 drawings by students from Col·legi Badalonès, which were used to train the AI. The AI created hundreds of unique design ideas, reflecting the creativity of the students. The exhibition includes both the students' drawings and the AI-generated designs.

The exhibition tells the story of the project, from the first knowledge transfer sessions with teachers to the final design selection. The result is Dimonia, the AI-generated design chosen by a student vote from fifteen pre-selected designs. This design was submitted to the 2024 Crema’l Tu contest, representing a joint creation by students and AI. The project also aims to spark discussions among young people about these technological tools through practical sessions in April and May.

Location: Fundación Épica La Fura dels Baus, Calle Eduard Maristany 293 Local C, Badalona
Dates: May 3 to May 31, including weekends
Hours: 10 AM to 3 PM and 4 PM to 7 PM
Contact: info@fundacionepica.org

The beginning of the project

BADAMONIA started in October 2023 with a session where eight teachers from Col·legi Badalonès learned about the technology from CVC experts. They explained how the technology works, its limits, and its ethical implications, giving the teachers a strong theoretical base for the project. The project combines debate, creative expression (both written and visual), teamwork, consensus building, new technology awareness, and environmental topics, all approached artistically.

Starting in November, 5th and 6th-grade primary students, as well as secondary and high school students, began creating designs. In November and December 2023, the Épica Foundation and CVC processed nearly 600 student drawings to train the AI using Stable Diffusion, a generative AI tool.

Creating Dimonia

The AI training resulted in fifteen Dimoni design proposals, which were voted on by the students. The winning design, Dimonia, was submitted by Col·legi Badalonès in February 2024 to the Crema’l Tu contest. The Épica Foundation adapted the design to meet contest requirements, using the same AI to modify and enhance the image, creating a side view and a pedestal.

➡️ Check Épica Foundation La Fura dels Baus's post for a deeper dive into the process: https://fundacionepica.org/en/project/badamonia/

Workshops and Education

In April and May 2024, we held various workshops for students at different educational levels (primary school, high school, and 1º & 2º Bach). These workshops aimed to deepen their understanding of AI, explore how it is trained, and discuss its ethical implications.

Visit the Exhibition!

We invite you all to visit the BADAMON.IA exhibition at Épica Foundation La Fura dels Baus headquarter from May 3 to May 31, including weekends!

More information: BADAMON.IA - Fundació Épica