In 2023, Ingram Gallery hosted a Q&A with author George Daicopoulos on art making and artificial intelligence: Algorithms don’t feel, data doesn't will: Why AI won’t replace artists.  An enthusiastic crowd of artists, scientists, recent OCAD grads and the just-plain curious led to lively discussions.

AI is the latest in a long line of technologies (remember NFTs?) that threaten to displace painting. But what if painting is already the perfect technology for capturing the world?

It’s portable, hand-crafted, inherently local, and doesn’t require a monthly subscription to enjoy.

Join us at the gallery on Saturday, June 6, at 2pm as we discuss:

• How painting continues to defy AI

• Why painting is the most unmediated art form: No committees. No notes. No edits. One vision

• How painting taps into deep and resilient ways of seeing and feeling

Painting is an intensely local phenomenon. Painters don’t collaborate with others in distant places the way that writers, editors, or producers can. They do their lonesome work in a studio, rooted to place, and for the most part the folks who see their work come from the same place. This rootedness is fertile ground for connection.

–– Buy an Artist a Drink

Emmette Lewis

Emmette Lewis is a South African and Canadian multidisciplinary artist, now based in Toronto, Ontario. Growing up in British Columbia, her work took inspiration from B.C.'s diverse environmental ecology and harmonized that with traditional stylistic practices of South African art. Emmette studied at Emily Carr University before moving to Toronto and completing her Honours BFA at York University circa 2023. She completed her MFA at OCAD in their Interdisciplinary Arts, Media and Design Program in 2026.