{"id":2164685,"date":"2026-09-26T06:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T03:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2164685"},"modified":"2026-09-26T06:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T03:11:12","slug":"bristol-venues-strike-back-against-ai-generated-artwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2164685","title":{"rendered":"Bristol venues strike back against AI generated artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/5b70\/live\/8b2e1e00-b8db-11f1-953d-97bd0803bc08.jpg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"ChristopherChristopher Illing<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Live music venue Zed Alley has banned the use of AI artwork <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Communities in the West of England are taking a stance against the use of AI-generated artwork.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Caf\u00e9 Kino, based in Stokes Croft, Bristol, has become the latest venue to ban AI-generated posters, while the University of Bristol Students’ Union has banned AI artwork at its Freshers Week poster sale.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Bristol-based live music venue Zed Alley also banned AI artwork on its social media channels last month, citing ethical concerns and a lack of originality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“It fundamentally is terrible for the environment, and it takes the work out of the hands of graphic designers,” said Chris Illingworth, who manages the venue’s social media platforms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"ChristopherChristopher Illing<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Illingworth says banning AI posters has had a positive response<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Illingworth said the venue had received an “overwhelmingly positive” response from customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

As well as ethical concerns, Zed Alley decided to ban AI-generated posters because of their poor performance on social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“I think it’s partly that it’s missing a human touch and by and large, they look very samey,” said Illingworth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Earlier this week, a mural based on AI-generated artwork was removed from the Jolly Colliers pub in Bedminster after members of the community described it as “disrespectful”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

A spokesperson for Punch Pubs & Co, which owns the pub, previously said the mural was a “temporary solution” and that they would work with artists to replace it soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Bristol artist Jenny Harrison described the situation as “equal parts funny and tragic”, due to the mural’s location around the corner from Upfest, Europe’s largest street art festival.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The mural, which was based on an AI-generated image, was taken down on Thursday<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Harrison said she had noticed a rise in AI-generated posters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“It’s one of those things where I understand that often budget is a big issue for venues, but again, I think it’s such a shame when creatives don’t support other creatives.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Generative AI learns from vast quantities of material from the internet, which can be used to generate new content. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

This visual material can include images and videos, meaning that an artist’s published work can be used to train AI models.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“It makes me feel quite uncomfortable,” said Harrison.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“When it comes to AI replacing human creativity, that makes me really worried because creativity is such a purely human trait.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zase, a Bristol-based graffiti artist, said he did not mind people using AI generated artwork.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“I’m not bothered about what somebody else is doing,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“AI threatens loads of many jobs, graphic designers, office jobs, it is what it is.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Ruby Saunders, a 21-year-old mathematics student at the University of Bristol, said she is often put off by companies using AI artwork.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“It makes me think that they only value money, like profit over the people,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“Because if they got in an actual artist, it means they care about the artist having a living.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

After purchasing a poster at the Students’ Union’s annual poster sale, which she later realised had been designed using AI, Saunders led a motion to ban AI-generated artwork at the event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“I felt quite upset that I put my money into something that didn’t turn out to be what I thought it was,” said Saunders, who is against AI artwork due to ethical and environmental concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“It’s just using stolen art, and artists aren’t getting credited, so they’re not getting the money that they should be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“As well as that, a lot of people accuse artists of [using] AI when it’s actually their own work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“They have to put in a lot more time and effort to show, ‘actually, this isn’t AI art’.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"RubyRuby Saunders<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ruby Saunders proposed a motion to ban AI posters at the University of Bristol SU<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"RubyRuby Saunders<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ruby says she was disappointed to discover a poster she bought was designed by AI<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Saunders said AI’s environmental impact was also a major factor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“Especially with the recent drought, there’s a lot of water usage in AI in general, because they need a lot of water for coolant systems,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“A lot of energy is made using crude oil and non-renewable sources. And as well as that, it produces greenhouse gases. It warms up the whole world.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

A Bristol SU spokesperson said: “We are very happy to see our students using our democratic mechanism to bring change to the SU and to the University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“This motion to ban AI, Stolen and Unethical Art at SU Poster Sale was brought forward and passed at Student Council in term 1 of the 2025\/26 academic year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“We did not run a poster sale this Welcome Week.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Follow BBC Bristol on <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, <\/i>X<\/i> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i>. Send your story ideas to us on email or via <\/i>WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cmpd071gpv49o”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/5b70\/live\/8b2e1e00-b8db-11f1-953d-97bd0803bc08.jpg”] Christopher Illing Live music venue Zed Alley has banned the use of AI artwork Communities in the West of England are taking a stance against the use of AI-generated artwork. Caf\u00e9 Kino, based in Stokes Croft, Bristol, has become the latest venue to ban AI-generated posters, while the University of Bristol Students’ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2164685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2164685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2164685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2164685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2164685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}