Creative AI Bootcamp
at Mars College 2026
YOLO your way to augmented creativity in the embrace of industrial warehouse shelving in the scenic Sonoran desert.
The bootcamp consists of weekly workshops during the first half of the Mars semester. Everyone is encouraged to offer at least one workshop during this time about something they know or would like to know about. Ideally workshops help participants develop techniques using AI in some aspect of creative practice and / or develop ideas and context that might form a final project.
We will host a hackathon over a few days near the mid-term of the semester where people generate as much as they can with these tools and context. After the hackathon people give mid term presentations sharing their current thinking about their projects.
The second half of the semester is less planned. People work on their projects building something up to show at Mars Electronica. We continue to have updates, and spontaneous workshops and classes will still happen.
Showing work in our AI gallery is a core aspect of this program. We have 3 ‘Moons of Mars’ shows and Mars Electronica our final showcase. Bootcamp participants show work, help curate and generally make these shows happen.
We are in this together, and in addition to AI Art we create the living environment we want to hang out in during Mars. We will build a club house, some form of kitchen, and trailers, ‘hexapods’ or pallet rack apartments to live in. We very much rely on participant effort to make our shows happen and keep our gallery, kitchen and clubhouse tidy. How exactly meals happen and other lifestyle stuff will emerge based on the desires and effort of the people who show up.
Creative AI Bootcamp Timeline
Jan 12 - Ideas week | A Mars tradition. Introduce yourself to the community by sharing anything that excites you, projects you want to work on, topics you want to learn about, workshops you could give. Share multiple ideas. Take time to prepare you presentations. This is where first impressions are made, and collaborators are found.
Jan 12, Feb 1, March 3 - Gallery Shows | Showcase your work in the AI Art Gallery. These can be posters, videos, interactive agents, music, embodied AI, or any AI thing people can see or interact with in a physical space.
Jan 19 - Feb 19 - 1st Semester. Weekly lab sessions. Challenges, updates, workshops and activities.
Feb 19 - 22 - Mid Term Hackathon & Project Plan Presentations
Feb 23 - March 26 - 2nd Semester, weekly updates, work on your final project, surrender to the chaos...
March 27 - 30 - Mars Electronica | The Creative AI Final Showcase.
