The STE(A)M Workshops in Creative Artificial Intelligence – “Labyrinth, Dreams, the Power of Light” were named after a poem by Vladimir Pavlović, “Labyrinth, Dreams, the Power of Light,” which reflects on the journeys of our lives.
The workshops were held at the Cultural Center of Opovo in Serbia, a town with deep historical importance linked to the Vinča culture, a late Neolithic and early Eneolithic civilization of Southeastern Europe (5th–4th millennium BCE). Stories about the Vinča culture were used as inspiration. The workshops also aimed to provide digital literacy knowledge and opportunities to students in smaller towns, which often face challenges such as migration to larger cities for employment, while at the same time emphasizing the value of cultural heritage.
Through a multimodal approach, students explored AI as a tool for creativity and empowerment. Activities combined traditional storytelling and drawing with digital AI tools, teaching participants how to use a text and image generative LLM (ChatGPT) in ways that encouraged both critical reflection and artistic expression. In this process, they articulated their perspectives on cultural-historical and industrial heritage, framing them through both utopian and dystopian views of technological achievements.
Workshop structure
Within the 4-week workshop framework, upper secondary school students participated every weekend in activities that explored themes such as the contrast between real experiences and their digital representations, the reasons for creating narrative structures, the significance of cultural and historical heritage, and the role of digital technologies in symbolic and metaphorical expression.
Team
The workshops were led by Prof. Dr. Vladimir Pavlović and co-led by designer and PhD candidate Bogdan Novaković and Assistant Professor Nataša Milosavljević, the workshop was observed by Dr. Olivera J. Bogunović, psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School / McLean Hospital, who contributed her expertise to the evaluation of the initiative.
Funding
The initiative was supported by the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information, and Relations with Religious Communities. After the workshops, a student competition for the best AI-inspired work was announced, with a final exhibition scheduled for December to present all outcomes.
Additionaly
We would also like to thank Katarina Nikolić (Director of the Cultural Center in Opovo) and Jovana Ugrinov (Kreativni klub Opovo) for their valuable support and collaboration.
