Endangered Species Day 2023 is May 19 and chalk artists around the globe are gathering their colors! You can participate in this event from anywhere in the world from May 19 - 20. The Endangered Species Coalition is welcoming all people, regardless of age, to help raise awareness of the importance of endangered wildlife through their art.

More than 1 million species worldwide are threatened with extinction, so let's celebrate the beauty of the plants and animals around us.

For all of the details of this free event (and to register to win prizes too): https://www.endangered.org/endangered-species-chalk-art-event/

📸: iStock

Imagine being an artist, spending countless hours, weeks, and months perfecting a masterpiece only to have it recreated in short-order by a computerized system. As artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining more and more traction, artists across the U.S. (and the world) are finding their works replicated by AI-image generators in short order. This results in a significant impact on their career, as well as their earning potential, and their creative talents become marginalized.

Here in 2023, working artists in San Francisco (as well as London and other cities) are taking their battles to court as AI-image generators and online galleries create art 'in the style' of artists, but without asking for permission or paying commissions to them.

Artists are also facing AI-generated artwork in competitions.

Stand with artists to protect their talents and work from AI-image generator companies and individuals 👉 https://www.humanartistrycampaign.com/

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PS - If you'd like to learn more about AI-image generators and their impact on artists: https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-images-rights-1c6d9e0e260e2d135a3e3bf98d5493df

Source: AP News, The New York Times
📸: z1b, Adobe

The arts sector, like many others, was hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Unemployment in the sector was (and continues to be) quite high with estimates placing it at 2x the national (overall) unemployment rate. *

Twice before—in the 1930s and the 1970s —the U.S. put thousands of artists and creative workers to work in strengthening cultural infrastructure and social fabric, giving all Americans access to social goods that the marketplace deems a privilege for those who can afford them: theater, music, film, visual arts, parks and amphitheaters, cultural preservation, and much more. 

Let's urge this to happen again, helping to promote the arts as well as to curb unemployment in the arts sector. Consider adding your name in support of urging the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture to take steps similar to those in the past 👉 https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/usdac-platform-submission

*: SMU DataArts
📸: Invaluable, Martha Cooper