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Future Frames 2025

Exploring AI in Creative Expression


Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the landscape of design and visual communication—reshaping how we generate ideas, solve problems, and tell stories. From generative tools that produce imagery and text to algorithms that inform aesthetics, designers are increasingly engaging AI not just as a tool, but as an agent. This evolving relationship challenges traditional notions of creativity and critical thinking while opening new pathways for experimentation, expression, and discourse. As we navigate this intersection, design becomes a vital space for questioning, imagining, and shaping the future of human-machine collaboration.

Are you an artist, designer, or creative thinker exploring the role of artificial intelligence in contemporary creative practice? We invite you to submit your work to Future Frames, an immersive exhibition that investigates the intersection of AI and the arts through bold, innovative storytelling.

Call for Submissions: July 20, 2025
Deadline for Submissions: September 15, 2025 (Extended)
List of Finalists: September 25, 2025
Exhibition Dates: October 12–31, 2025
Location: University of Maryland


Exhibition


Future Frames is a curated exhibition that showcases posters and short videos addressing social, cultural, and environmental issues/resolutions related to the growing presence of AI in our lives. As part of the University of Maryland’s Arts for All initiative, this exhibition celebrates interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and the creative possibilities of human-machine partnerships.

In addition to the exhibition, we will host hands-on workshops and public discussions with participating students, artists, technologists, and educators. These sessions will explore ethical, cultural, and aesthetic implications of AI in art and design.

Categories


We welcome submissions in the following categories:

  • Posters (up to 2 works)
  • Video (Motion graphics, Video Art, short film - max. 3 minutes​)

Eligibility


  • Open to students, professionals, freelancers, designers, … anyone with a passion for creative expression.
  • Submissions must demonstrate meaningful use or commentary on AI in the process.

Awards


  • Submissions will be reviewed in two categories: Professional and Student (must enrolled in accredited art/design programs). One winner will be selected from each category in both sections. Each winner will receive a $100 award — totaling:

    $100 for Professional Poster
    $100 for Student Poster
    $100 for Professional Video
    $100 for Student Video

  • All finalist works will be exhibited and prominently featured in the University of Maryland’s gallery space.

Guidelines


  1. Participants may submit up to two (2) posters and (2) videos.
  2. Poster series will not be accepted. Each poster is evaluated independently.
  3. Videos should be under 3 minutes. Include a YouTube/Vimeo link.
  4. Contact information and website/socials (optional)
  5. AI-assisted or AI-generated ​works accepted
  6. There is No submission fee!
  7. The organizers reserve the right to modify exhibition details or provide updates as needed.

Judging Criteria


  • The judging criteria for the Future Frames Exhibition 2025 will emphasize originality and creativity in addressing the role of AI in the arts, clarity and strength of concept, effective visual or narrative communication, and the overall aesthetic and technical quality of the work. Submissions should demonstrate a thoughtful engagement with AI—whether through its use as a creative tool or as a subject of critical exploration—and will be evaluated on how well they spark dialogue around creativity and the future of human–machine collaboration.

As AI reshapes the world, this exhibition asks: How can artists respond, collaborate, and innovate within this evolving landscape? If you are working with AI in your creative practice, we want to hear from you.
Join us for Future Frames, and help define the visual language of the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

SUBMIT YOUR WORK



2025 Team


Alireza Vaziri (Founder) is a  designer and educator whose work lies at the intersection of design, technology, and social change. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Design at the University of Maryland. He holds an MFA in Design from the University of California, Davis. With a strong foundation in visual storytelling and interactive media, Alireza’s creative practice explores the power of design to raise awareness about pressing social, political, and cultural issues. His work has been recognized internationally and showcased in exhibitions, galleries, and publications around the world. Highlights include features in Graphis, Communication Arts, Mut zur Wut, UCDA, the London International Creative Competition, The Sechrest Gallery of Art, Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for Contemporary Art.


Jonathan David Martin (Founder) is a creative producer, educator, and director working at the intersection of emerging technology (XR, AI, robotics) and live performance. At the University of Maryland, he is a faculty member in the Immersive Media Design (IMD) program, founding Program Manager of the New Works Incubator, and a Co-PI for interdisciplinary research projects translating cutting-edge science for general audiences. He is an XR director, and performer working at the intersection of immersive technology, documentaries, and live performance.  His work focuses on using AR/VR to develop new narrative and production approaches to content creation across a range of mediums. He comes to immersive media from a performing arts background as a Broadway performer, stage director, and producer.

Yael Inbar (Jury) is a screenwriter, theater director, and puppeteer exploring storytelling through animation and performance. She is a Lecturer at the University of Maryland and Head of the Animation Department at Sapir College, Israel. Yael founded Gertrude Theater, a company combining puppetry and choreography whose award-winning productions have toured internationally. Her research and teaching focus on the relationship between text and image across stage, animation, and installation. She leads international collaborations such as Animation Following Literature with the Polish National Film School in Łódź and mentors documentary animation films exploring contemporary social issues. She has also taught at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and Bournemouth University.