Pixels, Patrons, and Power: AI and the Future of African Art
When art is generated, not made—who owns the story? And who funds the storyteller? If the muse is now a machine, the mission must evolve too.
Scene: Somewhere in a studio, probably tucked away in Lagos, Nigerian artist Malik Afegbua prompts an AI program to imagine a fashion show for the elderly. Within moments, vivid images emerge—elegant seniors dressed in futuristic attire, walking digital runways. This is “The Elder Series”, a stunning body of work that challenges perceptions of aging, creativity, and what it even means to be an artist today.
Afegbua didn’t use a brush. He used code. And the muse? It might have been a machine.
As AI becomes increasingly woven into creative processes, especially in visual and narrative arts, a new tension emerges: When art is generated, not made—who owns the story? And who funds the storyteller? In Africa, where artistic expression has always been deeply intertwined with community, heritage, and oral tradition, these questions cut deeper. What happens when the canvas becomes digital, the patron becomes an algorithm, and the storyteller is trained on data that doesn’t even include her own culture?
The AI Tidal Wave Has Already Hit
African art has long balanced innovation and tradition — from the Sankofa narratives of Ghana to the Afrofuturist canvases of modern Johannesburg. Now, tools like Midjourney, DALL·E, and ChatGPT are being quietly adopted by a new generation of creators.
Take Moroccan artist Mehdayev Brayen, who used AI to craft “HEJJAYTI, Pt. VII,” a hypnotic, culturally infused music video that blurs the lines between ancestral storytelling and futuristic visuals. Or consider Ife Olowu, the Nigerian artist who layers traditional Yoruba symbols onto canvases and brings them to life with augmented reality.
These are not gimmicks. They are signals. AI is no longer an emerging tool—it’s a transformative force already remaking the way African stories are created, shared, and valued.
Yet, for every artist exploring these frontiers, many others remain sidelined—not because they lack talent, but because they lack access, awareness, or support.
Philanthropy in Flux: When the Muse Goes Digital
Historically, art in Africa has been sustained through a blend of community, cultural institutions, and philanthropic support. From residencies to international fellowships, artists have relied on patrons—public and private—to help bring their visions to life.
But what happens when the artist can generate in seconds what once took months? What does “creative labor” mean when effort and output are no longer directly linked?
Many philanthropic organizations are caught in this recalibration. Do they fund the person or the prompt? Do they support hand-carved sculptures, or AI-assisted films made in bedrooms?
The Mozilla Foundation offers a case study in adaptation. Through partnerships with initiatives like Electric South, they’ve supported African creators working at the cutting edge of AI, VR, and immersive storytelling1. Yet most funders remain unsure of how to evaluate this new paradigm, often defaulting to rubrics that may fail to recognize AI’s potential to democratize expression.
Code, Culture, and Complication
AI offers powerful possibilities, but it also comes with real ethical baggage.
Many of the tools available today are trained predominantly on Western datasets. This raises a thorny question: If African artists use AI trained on images, narratives, and aesthetics that exclude their cultures, is the resulting work truly African? Or is it a digitized echo of someone else’s imagination?
There’s also the matter of digital inequality. Not every artist has stable electricity, high-speed internet, or a modern laptop. The very tools meant to democratize creativity may end up deepening existing divides if funders and technologists don’t address these structural gaps.
And then there’s the rise of AI in grant-making itself, some organizations now use machine learning to screen applications. If the algorithm doesn’t “understand” culturally specific expressions or formats, entire communities may be silenced before they even get a chance to speak.
Seizing the Opportunity: The Future Can Still Be Written
Not all is gloom. In fact, this moment may be the most exciting inflection point African art has seen in decades.
Platforms like Ubuntu-AI2 are actively working with African heritage communities to co-develop AI tools that center local languages, stories, and values. Meanwhile, collectives and independent artists are exploring how AI can extend, not erase, cultural expression.
Philanthropy has a critical role here—not just as a funder, but as a convener, translator, and bridge-builder. The future of artistic empowerment might include:
Funding AI literacy and ethical training for artists.
Supporting hybrid exhibitions that combine traditional and AI-generated works.
Partnering with tech companies to ensure open access to tools tailored for low-bandwidth contexts.
AI doesn’t have to replace the artist. It can amplify the artist’s voice—but only if the artist remains in control.
A New Kind of Patronage
We are witnessing the rise of a new artistic paradigm, where creativity is both deeply personal and deeply collaborative—with machines, with algorithms, with global digital communities.
It’s not enough for philanthropy to fund art. It must now fund the future of art—with care, vision, and an unflinching commitment to equity.
Because if the muse is now a machine, the mission must evolve too.
**A recent LinkedIn post by Marie Lora-Mungai sparked this thought. This article explores a broader reflection and questions through my own lens. Most times, our thoughts make good reads!
Anne Stopper (2024). Mozilla Foundation. New Technologies like AR, VR, and AI Help Emerging Artists in Africa Tell Original Stories.
U-M Stamps School of Art & Design (2025). Ubunti-AI: New Collaborations from African Heritage Communities at the Intersections of Art, Design and Artificial Intelligence.