Team and partners
The Observatory’s research is conducted by an interdisciplinary team based at Carnegie Mellon University, working in close partnership with three organizations across arts education, research universities, and creative practice and industries.
Research team
The Observatory’s research is led by an interdisciplinary team drawn from Carnegie Mellon University and the Observatory’s partner institutions. Each member contributes to the Fieldscan and Benchmarking initiatives across arts education, creative practice, and AI.
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Daragh Byrne
Project Lead · Carnegie Mellon University
Lead of the College of Fine Arts’ Working Group on AI at Carnegie Mellon, with NSF-funded research on creativity support tools and on arts-integrated research through the XSEAD and Ground Works initiatives.
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Brett Ashley Crawford
Project Lead · Carnegie Mellon University
Executive Director of the Arts Management and Technology Laboratory at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon, with research on emerging technologies in nonprofit arts fundraising and on the use of AI to engage communities around public art.
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Maryrose Flanigan
Partner Lead · a2ru
Executive Director of the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), advancing arts-based and interdisciplinary research, practice, and teaching across a national network of higher-education institutions.
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Aaron D. Knochel
Partner Lead · Penn State ADRI
Associate Professor of Art Education at Penn State and affiliated faculty at the Art & Design Research Incubator, with current research on the impact of generative AI on art education.
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Jeff M. Poulin
Partner Lead · Creative Generation
Founder and Managing Director of Creative Generation, a learning and capacity-building organization working with young creatives and those who cultivate their creativity.
Technical Working Group
The Observatory’s Technical Working Group is a set of external advisors drawn from arts education, creative industries, and AI practice. The group provides technical guidance and external perspective on the Fieldscan and Benchmarking initiatives.
Members will be added here as the group is convened.
Partner institutions
The Observatory is housed at Carnegie Mellon University and conducts its research in partnership with three external organizations spanning arts education, research universities, and creative practice and industries.
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Carnegie Mellon University
The Observatory is housed at Carnegie Mellon University, where the interdisciplinary team leads the Fieldscan and Benchmarking initiatives in collaboration with the partners listed below.
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Creative Generation
Creative Generation empowers young creatives through research, resource-sharing, and intergenerational learning. They shift policy, pedagogy, and practice to support creativity as a force for change across cultural and educational institutions.
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Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru)
a2ru is a network of colleges and universities dedicated to fostering and promoting the arts in higher education.
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Pennsylvania State University — Art & Design Research Incubator
Penn State’s Art & Design Research Incubator (ADRI) fosters interdisciplinary research in the arts, design, and arts education, and supports work exploring creativity, emerging technologies, and community engagement.
Network
The Observatory’s research is informed by a wider, interdisciplinary network of researchers and practitioners working at the intersection of arts and AI. The network grows alongside the Fieldscan and Benchmarking initiatives, drawing in scholars, educators, and creative professionals whose work bears directly on the Observatory’s research questions.