The Album

A Research and Development Project in AI by Andrew Mitchell in collaboration with the Conversation Club.

‘The Album’ is a short running Research & Development (R&D) Project led by Visual Artist Andrew Mitchell. With Asylum Seekers and Refugees being one of our Priority Communities selected by our Community Advisors, Andrew worked on this project collaboratively with The Conversation Club.

About the Project and Artist Andrew Mitchell

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.” - More recently AI has been used to create artwork - this is an area Andrew Mitchell has been exploring. Andrew uses the software ‘Midjourney’ that makes images from text.

You can see more of Andrew’s AI work under his Instagram here.

This R&D comprised of 3-4 sessions. The sessions were led by Andrew and he worked with a handful of Conversation Club Members to create Images together, exploring different themes. The project was fluid and a work in progress, but we were so excited to see the journey it took the participants on.

We hope to share some AI responses with the public, but we are mindful some participants may choose to keep their images private.

The Sessions with Conversation Club Members

Andrew visited the Conversation Club and met with a handful of members and introduced himself, shared his own journey and introduced them to AI. Through conversation Andrew and the members of the Conversation Club began to explore AI and the possibilities it presented for them.

The initial questions that were explored were ‘Where would you like to go?’ and ‘What would you like to do?’.

Beyong this session, Andrew and members of the Conversation Club met regularly. Exploring themes and ideas together, the individuals each came up with a focus as to what they wanted the AI to explore.

Examples include creating their own fashion line, building a dream house and creating a visualised version of a story imagined. The possibilities were endless!

About The Conversation Club

The Doncaster Conversation Club provides a welcome to new arrivals into Doncaster focussing on asylum seekers and refugees. It aims to provide a sanctuary where clients can escape loneliness and isolation. For many who have experienced endemic corruption and brutality from the authorities in their homeland it tries to build bridges and grow the trust between them and the officialdom here.

‘The Album’ Launch

We had a wonderful morning celebrating the launch of ‘The Album’ - which has been a beautiful collaboration between The Conversation Club and Right Up Our Street, led by the fantastic Andrew Mitchell.

“The Album” artwork has been created with Andrew and four Conversation Club Members using AI to articulate their ideas on stories, homes, landscapes, fashion and so much more into visual art!

It was lovely to join and share stories together at #RUOSHQ over a cup of tea and cake.

Big thank you to Denise & Paul at the Conversation Club for bringing us together and the talented Mo for sharing his wonderful music with us.

The Artwork

A Blog Post Written by Artist Andrew Mitchell about the journey of ‘The Album’.

A New Canvas: AI and Art Come Together

As an artist, I'm always seeking new creative avenues to explore. In recent years, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology has opened up unprecedented possibilities in the realm of art. In early 2023 I began experimenting with generating images using various artificial intelligence platforms.

Having worked as a photographer for many years, I was amazed at the new scenes, vistas, and worlds that I created from my computer; from tropical beaches to snowcapped mountain tops - the possibilities seemed endless. I created an Instagram account to share my creations, through which Sally Lockey, from Right Up Our Street, contacted me about using image generation in a community setting.

Organised in conjunction with Right Up Our Street, and from suggestions from their community advisory group, we created The Album, with the aim of creating personalised art works with participants from DCC, aiming to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve in the artistic domain.

For this project, we turned to the innovative software Midjourney, which generates images from natural language prompts. The system takes your suggestions for scenes, sculptures and photographs, rendering photorealistic outputs. Through a series of in-person sessions, our participants delved into their lives and loves, to create portfolios of imagery that were unique to them. We crafted image after image, experimenting with various themes, emulating artistic styles, and weaving in personal narratives.

The results were nothing short of breathtaking. Over a series of weeks, based out of the DCC office, we created a series of AI-generated visuals from our collaborative prompts. From awesome architectural design to flamboyant fashions sheets, serene sculptures to underwater adventure; combining human creativity with machine intelligence.

But The Album was about more than just the final pieces. It was a living, evolving process – a journey of discovery that both inspired and humbled me. Working alongside Sammy, Mo, Mina, Ahmed and the dedicated members of the Doncaster Conversation Club, I was privileged to bear witness to their life stories, experiences, and cultural perspectives.

Each prompt, each brushstroke of artificially intelligent brilliance, carried deeper meaning and insight into the human condition. We didn't just create art; we forged connections, built bridges between cultures, and celebrated the potential of technology and humanity in unison.

We reconvened in March at RUOS HQ, to share the portfolios of work with our wonderful group of artists. Over a delicious afternoon tea, we admired the incredible artworks, were serenaded by Mo, and shared our experiences of working together on this wonderful project.

I'm tremendously grateful to have been part of this groundbreaking project. The Album has opened my eyes to an entirely new artistic canvas, where the boundaries between human and machine grow increasingly blurred. It is an exciting frontier, but one that must be explored thoughtfully and collaboratively.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Beth, Sally, the Right Up Our Street team, Paul and Denise from DCC, and most importantly, to the wonderful participants who entrusted me with their stories and their friendship. The Album will forever be a milestone in my artistic journey – an expedition into the great unknown that has yielded profound discoveries about art, AI, and our shared human experience.

The Album - The Next Phase

Right Up Our Street and project manager Andrew Mitchell are now taking the wonderful participants on a journey to bring their AI creations to life.

The National Glass Centre

In June 2024 the group visited the National Glass Centre and experienced a workshop in glass blowing, led by the Sunderland Creative team, Jim and Rob.

Ahmed’s piece of work will be brought to life via glass blowing and whilst we were there Ahmed was consulted on what he visualised his piece looking like and explored possibilities and potential outcomes with Jim and Rob.

The team enjoyed a fun day getting to explore The National Glass Centre and try their hand at glass blowing themselves.

We now can’t wait to see what Ahmed and the team will create together.

Photographs by Andrew Mitchell.

About James Maskrey

James Maskrey has a career in hot glass spanning over 30 years. He has exhibited widely internationally and has been recognised for his own work with inclusion in many public and private collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Crafts Council. He has a devout passion for education and the sharing of skills and techniques and has led masterclasses both in the UK and Europe.

He has facilitated glass projects for many other artists choosing to work in glass who have included Richard Slee, Bruce McLean, Magdalene Odundo, William Tillyer and Nicholas Pope. In 2021 he facilitated the making of 4 major art commissions in hot glass for the ‘Glass Exchange’ project for artists Monster Chetwynd, Ryan Gander Pascale Marthine Tayou and Katie Paterson which was completed in the Spring 2022.

He currently works as an academic tutor, senior glass technician and artist facilitator for the University of Sunderland at the National Glass Centre.

About Hannah

Hannah who assisted James in the making is a graduate from the University of Sunderland’s BA programme at the National Glass Centre and also works for the National Glass Centre studio as well as studying part-time for her MA with them, which she will complete in October 2025.

Workshops with Designer Estelle Pearce

Digital fashion designer Estelle Pearce has been running workshops for The Album participants to help create the fabric for Sammy’s AI dress design.

Estelle will be bringing Samy’s AI vision alive through hand dyeing fabrics to make sure the perfect colour is created.

Estelle has also measured Sammy so he can wear the beautiful dress himself.

Mina, Mo and Ahmed alongside Sammy have also had the opportunity to try their hand at natural dyeing fabrics too, learning about the processes Estelle uses. The team have made some fantastic designs on Tote Bags.

We can’t wait to see what Sammy and Estelle create together.

Photographs by Beth Prior