‘Keep human culture alive’: Halifax music venue takes a stand against AI posters

A popular Halifax music venue is taking a stand against event posters generated by artificial intelligence.

Gus’ Pub in the city’s north end has been supporting local artists for years. Going beyond just the music itself, the walls of the pub are littered with event posters crafted by local graphic designers.

But when show fliers generated by AI started creeping in, the bar pushed back.

“It just reflects our values as musicians and as the pub. This place is very artist-run, artist-centric. We have a really strong community of artists that come here of all different kinds, not just music,” said TJ Ploughman, who is a bartender at the pub and a musician.

“As a staff, we’re all musicians. We’re all artists. So we decided to just basically be the landmark for purely human artistry.”

Story continues below advertisement

Gus’ Pub recently shared a post on its Instagram page, announcing the venue will no longer be accepting AI event posters. Instead, if performers submit one for their booking, they’ll opt for a “No Name” template, which was created as a parody of Loblaws’ brand.

“We will give them resources. Sometimes even the manager, CJ, is very good at just whipping up a poster for somebody,” Ploughman added.

“It’s either do it yourself or get someone artistic to do it for you.”

The message struck a nerve and has generated thousands of online responses.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.

Halifax artist, Gabriela Warlet, is one of many applauding the move.

“There’s no soul in art created by AI because it looks all the same,” said Warlet.

Story continues below advertisement

The musician and graphic designer says she started losing clients as AI use became more prevalent. However, she believes more musicians have reached out to her for design work since Gus’ Pub took a stand.

“I feel like after AI, I stopped having commissions as much as I did years ago,” she said.

“I started doing this when I was like 16 and I was selling more art frequently. And after AI came to be, a lot of people stopped commissioning.”

One organization representing Nova Scotian visual artists says AI adoption in art and commercial spaces is a top concern for many in the industry.

“It really does devalue the artist in so many ways,” explained Therese Cruz, executive director of Visual Arts Nova Scotian.

Cruz says she’d like to see more businesses take a stand similar to Gus’ Pub and encourage more people to seek out original work created by humans.

“Their careers in the arts are actually supported by doing so and taking a strong stance against technology that is not helpful,” she said.

Canadian Artists’ Representation/ Le Front des artistes canadiens (CARFAC) represents professional visual artists. The group’s interim executive director, Jenna Faye Powell, says supporting local artists is especially important now in light of political tensions with the United States.

Story continues below advertisement

“We all understand the financial constraints businesses face right now, especially during Canada-US trade disputes; this is when we need to support Canadian arts and culture the most,” she said in a statement.

“It’s too frequent that budget lines for artists are the ones cut first, and that’s unacceptable. Artists are entrepreneurs and small businesses too.”

Back at the pub, staff are gearing up for a busy September with one mission in mind.

“Basically, just keep human culture alive,” said Ploughman.

2:21 Artists in Halifax raise concerns on AI generated assignment