Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts Awarded NEA Research Lab Grant to Launch Landmark Field Scan and Benchmarking Activity Around the Arts and AI
Media Inquiries:
Pam Wigley, pwigley@andrew.cmu.edu, 412-268-1047
Caitlin Kizielewicz, ckiz@andrew.cmu.edu, 412-554-0074
PITTSBURGH — May 5, 2026 — The College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University on April 24 received a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Research Lab Grant, which is a highly visible national recognition of institutional leadership in arts research.
The NEA Research Labs program is only awarded to a small set of institutions and limited to one per institution. The labs program supports interdisciplinary teams building evidence and public knowledge around the role of the arts in areas of broad social importance. Receiving this grant signals that Carnegie Mellon is helping shape a national research agenda in this area, said principal investigator and associate teaching professor in the School of Architecture, Daragh Byrne.
"The arts are uniquely positioned to respond to AI in ways that are essential to continued innovation. But as AI reshapes creative practice, the arts have to help lead the national conversation — not follow it," Byrne said. "This grant recognizes decades of work at the College of Fine Arts to do exactly that, and it gives CMU a new center of excellence that brings creative practice and critical thinking to the university's broader AI efforts."
"I'm really proud but, honestly, not surprised that our team was awarded this highly selective grant," said Mary Ellen Poole, dean of the College of Fine Arts. "The work that Daragh, Brett and their colleagues have done is more critical than ever as we wrestle with the impact of generative AI on our creative practices."
The two-year grant begins June 1 and continues through May 31, 2028. The overall project incorporates additional partners as follows: Creative Generation in South Portland, Maine; Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) in Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Pennsylvania State University's Art & Design Research Incubator in State College, Pa.
Planned products include an interdisciplinary network of researchers and practitioners at the intersection of AI and the arts; a lab website with relevant resources; and an annual symposium.
At Carnegie Mellon and, specifically, at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, the NEA grant will benefit the Arts Management and Technology Laboratory (AMT). It's a virtual space vs. a physical space, and its work is far-reaching — not only among the campus community, but also regionally, nationally and internationally.
"The NEA grant allows CMU to lead a national effort in analyzing how higher education — and its recruitment pipelines — can better integrate AI literacy, specifically within the arts," said Brett Ashley Crawford, teaching professor, Master of Arts Management & Entertainment Industry Management programs, and executive director of the AMT Lab. "It would aid the AMT Lab in its efforts to amplify arts advocacy, policy and education."
Byrne agreed, noting that CFA's work in AI and the arts is increasingly outward-facing — helping peer institutions navigate the same questions CMU is wrestling with. This new initiative at CMU and CFA will coordinate resources and shared knowledge that allow educational institutions to advance their own AI efforts relative to arts and design.
"We will ask what it means for students to work creatively, skillfully and ethically with AI, and where the real opportunities for artists and designers are within this space," he said. "Our benchmarking initiative will track how institutions across the country are responding to AI in the arts, giving us the data to shape smarter policy and practice on campuses nationwide. Right now, every school is figuring this out alone. The arts need a clear, coordinated voice in the national conversation about AI — and that's what we're building."
For more information about this effort at Carnegie Mellon, go to https://artsaiobservatory.org/.
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