The AI art movement is rapidly expanding, and despite being at the center of a contentious cultural debate, creators driving the trend forward seemingly have both nothing and everything to prove to those attempting to delegitimize the technology and its use.

AI-assisted artwork is becoming increasingly commonplace, and the presence of physical exhibitions dedicated solely to such art is a testament to the proliferation of these tools and the enthusiasm with which they’ve been adopted by millions across the globe. For instance, NFT Paris features an exhibition entitled Artist x AI 000003, co-curated by AI art pioneer and advocate Claire Silver, and showcasing the works of 39 of the most innovative AI-enabled artists in the space.

Another Superchief-hosted AI art exhibition in Los Angeles, Deep Fake, will feature 73 pieces submitted by 62 creators in the collective MAIF. ClownVamp, the show’s curator, is a well-known and respected AI art collector and artist in the space, who believes the exhibition is an opportunity to make the community’s voice heard explicitly and ensure the often toxic conversation surrounding AI art isn’t one-sided.

ClownVamp hopes the exhibition will help underscore the idea that AI art tools’ inherent accessibility is heralding an unparalleled era in the democratization of creativity in society. The exhibition’s theme leans directly into critiques that AI artists and their works aren’t “real,” exploring the line between real and artificial. Money raised from the sale of art on Objkt will be used to create the MAIF Art Fund, whose goal will be to acquire art from emerging AI artists.

Above all, the artists and community organizers behind Deep Fake aim to show how AI art tools can be an intimate and emotionally resonant conduit through which creativity and expression can flourish. The show comes at a time when the AI art debate is at its most heated, and exhibitions like Deep Fake and Artist x AI 000003 are doing their part to remind the world that revolutionary tools and art traditions have always been disruptive, and that history might offer the better part of wisdom in approaching them with curiosity and enthusiasm, not fear.