Are Tech&Creativity Converging or Diverging? Highlights from the Panathēnea Side Event Panel

A recap from the ArtSpark x Metavallon panel at Panathēnea Festival

On May 8th, Nitra Gallery opened its doors to a full house of artists, entrepreneurs, and curious minds for a timely and candid conversation on the intersection of technology and creativity. Is technology enhancing creativity or reshaping it into something entirely new? That was the central question at the heart of “Tech & Creativity: Converging or Diverging?”, a panel discussion co-organized by ArtSpark and Metavallon VC as part of the Panathēnea Festival.

Bringing together a choreographer, a visual artist, a tech entrepreneur, and a physicist-turned-art authenticator, the event set out to explore how artificial intelligence is redefining creative work as a cultural, aesthetic, and ethical force.

Each speaker approached the question from a different angle, but all engaged with the core tension: Are art and technology moving closer together or further apart? Here’s what we learned.

AI as a Visual Collaborator

George Drivas, visual artist and Greece’s representative at the 57th Venice Biennale, has been experimenting with AI-generated images and videos for years. In his latest 40-minute film, he used over ten different AI models to bring a script to life not to simulate reality, but to explore a new, often uncanny, visual language.

“Prompt writing is a language in itself. It’s a dialogue not a command.”

Choreography Meets Classification

Irini Kalaitzidi, a dancer and researcher at Goldsmiths, is challenging the way AI categorizes the human body. Her work focuses on the tension between the fluid ambiguity of movement and the rigid logic of classification models, such as those used in surveillance and action recognition.

“I’m interested in what happens when the dancing body resists being put in a box, when it demands to be many things at once.”

Sound Design Gets Personal

Orfeas Boteas, founder of Krotos, is behind some of the most cutting-edge sound tools in cinema and gaming. With credits in Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and more, his mission is to democratize sound design through AI-assisted tools — not by replacing humans, but by empowering them.

“We want to shorten the distance between imagination and result. AI is here to assist, not to replace.”

Scanning the Invisible

Marie Didier, physicist and founder of MATIS, is using AI and imaging science to make the invisible visible — from pigments and materials in old master paintings to authentication processes for the art market. Her mission: bring precision, transparency, and science to one of the least regulated sectors in the creative economy.

“We’re not replacing expertise. We’re adding a new layer of information — a new lens to see through.”

Key Takeaways

• AI is becoming a collaborator, especially in creative processes that rely on experimentation, feedback, and iteration.

• Materiality is making a comeback, as artists re-engage with physical mediums in response to the intangibility of digital work.

• Creativity ≠ creative labor. AI may automate tasks, but it doesn’t replace the messy, iterative, human process of making.

• Democratization is real — but only when access and agency go hand-in-hand.

• Technological literacy is now part of artistic practice. Education and openness about process are key to responsible use.

What’s Next?

As the speakers agreed, AI is not a phase. It’s here to stay, but not as hype. It will blend into the creative fabric, just like photography, Photoshop, or the internet once did. The challenge now? To stay human. To stay critical. And to build better systems through dialogue.

“AI is collective intelligence. So let’s process it collectively.” – Irini Kalaitzidi

Watch the full panel discussion below
If you missed the event or want to revisit the conversation, the full video is now available. Tune in to hear the speakers’ insights firsthand and experience the dynamic exchange that unfolded live at Nitra Gallery.