Art curatorial practice involves presenting an art collection in a knowledgeable way. Machine processes, on the other hand, are characterized by their ability to manage and analyze vast amounts of data. This paper explores the implications of contemporary machine learning models for the curatorial world through AI curation and audience interaction. The project was developed for the 2023 Helsinki Art Biennial, titled ”New Directions May Emerge,” and utilizes the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM) collection to re-imagine the city of Helsinki through the lens of machine perception. Visual-textual models are used to place museum artworks in public spaces, assigning fictional coordinates based on similarity scores. They are then employed to generate synthetic 360° art panoramas, transforming the space that each artwork inhabits in the city. The generation is guided by estimated depth values from 360° panoramas at each artwork location and using machine- generated prompts of the artworks. The result is an AI curation that places the artworks in their imagined physical space, blurring the lines of artwork, context, and machine perception. The project is virtually presented as a multimedia web- based installation, where users can navigate an alternative version of the city and explore and interact with its cultural heritage at scale.

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