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WORKSHOPS

Workshop 01

The First Reflection in Creative Experience (RiCE) Workshop

Duration: Full day

Organizers:

  • Corey Ford (Chair), University of the Arts London, UK
  • Olga Sutskova, University of the Arts London, UK
  • Samuel Rhys Cox, Aalborg University, Denmark
  • Sarah Sterman, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Max Kreminski, Cornell Tech, USA
  • Rosa Van Koningsbruggen, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany
  • Anqi Wang, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR
  • Ege Otenen, Indiana University Bloomington, USA
  • Karly Ross, University of Calgary, Canada
  • Giulia Di Fede, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
  • Yinmiao Li, Northwestern University, USA
  • Salvatore Andolina, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
  • Marit Bentvelzen, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  • Pan Hui, HKUST (Guangzhou) / HKUST, Hong Kong SAR
  • Nick Bryan-Kinns, University of the Arts London, UK

Website/URL: https://riceworkshop.github.io/

Contact Email: c.ford@arts.ac.uk

Deadline for registration/application:
Submission Deadline: Tuesday 12th May, 2026, 23:59 AoE
Notification: Tuesday 19th May, 2026, 23:59 AoE

Abstract:
The first Reflection in Creative Experience (RiCE) workshop invites researchers, designers, educators, and artists across HCI, Cognitive Science, Design, AI, Learning Sciences, and Digital Art to examine reflection and metacognition in creative interaction. The workshop will collaboratively develop a taxonomy for reflection in creative computing, and share research and practice on: – how reflection occurs across computer arts practices; – how best to study reflection in creative contexts; – how to leverage the arts to support reflection for ethical change; – and how to design creativity support tools and creative AI that enhances – not hinders – critical thinking. We invite submissions of papers, pictorials and videos relating to the conference themes on the workshop website. This includes submissions of first-person reflective pieces on people’s own computer arts practice. Keywords: AI, autoethnography, cognitive alignment, creativity support tools, data physicalisation, ethics, first-person accounts, flow, human-ai co-creativity, human-centred AI, inclusivity, LLM, positionality, process visualisation, reflection-in-action, social justice, soma-somatic, transformative practice, wellbeing

Workshop 02

Mapping the Landscape of AI in Design and Creative Education

Duration: Full day (Hybrid-mode)

Organizers:

  • Samangi Wadinambiarachchi, The University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Heekyoung Jung, University of Cincinnati, USA
  • Maria Luce Lupetti, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
  • Tilman Dingler, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
  • Dave Murray-Rust, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
  • Graham Dove, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, USA
  • Abdallah El Ali, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and Utrecht University, Netherlands

Website/URL: https://sites.google.com/view/aianddesignedu

Contact Email: samangi.w@unimelb.edu.au

Deadline for registration/application:
Submission Deadline: April 23, 2026, Anywhere on Earth
Notifications: May 8, 2026

Abstract:
Artificial intelligence is increasingly diffusing into design and creative education, reshaping how students ideate, iterate, and produce work. While these tools offer clear benefits in terms of speed and experimentation, they also challenge long-standing pedagogical assumptions regarding the importance of process, authorship, and studio-based learning. Educators are therefore faced with a dual task: mitigating the risks AI poses to reflective, process-oriented design while simultaneously exploring ways to meaningfully integrate these technologies into curricula. Through working group activities, this workshop examines these tensions to identify emerging strategies for the critical and transparent use of AI. Ultimately, we aim to address current knowledge gaps, establish a collaborative research agenda, and build a network to support AI collaboration in design and creative education.

Workshop 03

Tensions and Opportunities: Accessing Embodied Experience in HCI through Micro-Phenomenology

Duration: Full day

Organizers:

  • Xinglin Sun, Tongji University
  • Yulin Tian, Tongji University
  • Claudia Núñez-Pacheco, Malmö University
  • Bruna Petreca, Royal College of Art
  • Mirjana Prpa, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
  • Courtney N. Reed, Loughborough University London
  • Anton Poikolainen Rosén, Stockholm University
  • Ekaterina R. Stepanova, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
  • Laia Turmo Vidal, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Website/URL: https://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/tensions-and-opportunities-workshop-at-creativity-cognition-conference/

Contact Email: xinglinsun@tongji.edu.cn

Deadline for application:
Submission deadline: 20 April 2026
Notifications: 30 April 2026

Abstract:
Micro-phenomenology has recently gained traction in HCI as ways of accessing embodied, lived dimensions of interaction that resist conventional qualitative capture. By foregrounding pre-reflective experience, this approach promises greater experiential precision. However, when designers and HCI researchers attempt to apply Micro-phenomenology in practice, frictions often emerge. The method was not originally designed for design contexts, raising questions about accessibility, adaptability, and epistemic fit. We ask what is gained, transformed, or compromised when micro-phenomenology is brought into design research, and how they might evolve through situated practice. The workshop combines hands-on demonstrations of interviewing and analysis with guided reflective listening, followed by rotating small-group dialogues and material exploration. By bringing together researchers and practitioners interested in embodied and experiential approaches to HCI, the workshop aims to broaden access to micro-phenomenology while spurring critical dialogue about their limitations, transformations, and potential contributions to design research.

Workshop 04

Explainable AI for the Arts 4 – XAIxArts 2026

Duration: Full day

Organizers:

  • Shuoyang Jasper Zheng (Co-Chair), Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
  • Terence Broad (Co-Chair), University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  • Elizabeth Wilson, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  • Adam Cole, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  • Ziqing Xu, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  • Jia-Rey Chang, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Gabriel Vigliensoni, Concordia University, Canada
  • Jeba Rezwana, Towson University, USA
  • Lanxi Xiao, Tsinghua University, China
  • Michael Clemens, Independent Researcher, USA
  • Makayla Lewis, Kingston University, United Kingdom
  • Alan Chamberlain, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • Helen Kennedy, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • Corey Ford, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  • Nick Bryan-Kinns, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom

Website/URL: https://xaixarts.github.io/2026

Contact Email: Shuoyang Zheng: shuoyang.zheng@qmul.ac.uk / Terence Broad: t.broad@arts.ac.uk

Deadlines:
Submission Deadline: Thursday 23rd April, 2026, 23:59 AoE
Notifications: Thursday 14th May, 2026

Abstract:
This 4th ACM C&C workshop on explainable AI for the Arts (XAIxArts) brings together and expands a community of researchers and creative practitioners in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, AI, eXplainable AI (XAI), and Digital Arts to explore the role of XAI for the Arts. XAI is a key concern of Responsible and Human-Centred AI, emphasising HCI techniques that make opaque AI models more understandable to people. XAIxArts offers a distinctive lens to examine explainability through creative and artistic domains. Our previous workshops explored the landscape and the speculative futures of AI in creative processes. The 4th workshop focuses on the operationalisation of XAI in the Arts. Specifically, we will: – Critically reflect on emerging practices that encourage diversity and inclusivity in XAI; – Collectively ideate a library of missing projects to encourage future collaborations and speculations; – Scope the development of a resource hub for open XAIxArts projects to archive tangible XAI interventions and facilitate future community building with the wider discourse on Human-Centred AI.

Workshop 05

Amid Wonder and Discomfort: Pregnancy as a Design Space for Play

Duration: Full day

Organizers:

  • Ekaterina R. Stepanova, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
  • Juan Martinez Avila, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK
  • Mafalda Gamboa, Chalmers University of Technology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Yoav Luft, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
  • Laia Turmo Vidal, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
  • Deepika Yadav, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
  • Paulina Yurman, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  • Caroline Yan Zheng, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK
  • Jewei Zhou, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Website/URL: https://sites.google.com/view/pregnancy-play/home?pli=1

Contact Email: katstep@kth.se

Deadline for registration/application:
May 5th, 2026

Abstract:
Pregnancy is a life experience familiar to many—through being pregnant, accompanying a partner, or engaging with friends and colleagues. It is a deeply embodied journey marked by wonder, anticipation, curiosity, and often anxiety and discomfort. Despite its broad relevance, technologies designed for pregnancy predominantly frame it as a medical condition to be monitored, measured, and optimized. This overlooks opportunities to foster joy, playfulness, and creativity during this transformative period. Play and playfulness are widely explored within HCI for social connection, emotional support, and wellbeing. We invite designers, artists, researchers, and care practitioners, alongside participants with experiences of pregnancy, to explore playful, non-instrumental, and evocative design possibilities. Grounded in soma-design, participants will begin by attuning to bodily sensations and memories of pregnancy, treating the body as a site of knowledge. Through bodystorming, participants will collaboratively map a design space for play in pregnancy, opening up new research and design directions.

Workshop 06

Into the Hidden Layers: Creative Futures with the Mechanistic Material of AI

Duration: Full day

Organizers:

  • Imke Grabe, IT University of Copenhagen
  • Gabrielle Benabdallah, University of Washington
  • Alayt Issak, Northeastern University
  • Ginevra Petrozzi, Eindhoven University of Technology
  • James Pierce, University of Washington
  • Troy Nachtigall, Eindhoven University of Technology
  • Tom Jenkins, IT University of Copenhagen
  • Jesse Josua Benjamin, Eindhoven University of Technology

Website/URL: https://into-the-hidden-layers.github.io/

Contact Email: imgr@itu.dk

Deadline for registration/application:
April 23rd

Abstract:
While AI systems become ever more opaque, Hidden Layer Interaction proposes an alternative mode of using neural networks in creative practices. Through material-driven design, it approaches the hidden properties of models as a mechanistic material to investigate. In this workshop, we invite the community explore co-creation with neural networks through this lens. By collecting material investigations and interactive imaginaries into the hidden layers of neural networks in various domains, we invite participants to tinker with this novel design material and speculate about its design applications. Through a shared vocabulary, we facilitate an exchange between the technical properties of the material and its design articulations, and create a cartography of the hidden layers for building co-creative interfaces of the future.

Workshop 07

Visual Storytelling Beyond the Human – Iterative Narratives Through Human-AI Collaboration

Duration: Full day includes a half-day pop-up exhibition

Organizers:

  • Mengyao Guo, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen
  • Jie Fu, Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London
  • Zhijun (Aldrich) Pan, Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London
  • Mengzhi He, Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London
  • Yiran Zhang, Newcastle University
  • Nick Bryan-Kinns, Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London

Website/URL: https://vischi.org/

Contact Email: guomengyao@hit.edu.cn / j.fu1220161@arts.ac.uk

Deadline for registration/application:
Submission deadline – May 10, 2026 (AoE)
Notification Date – May 20, 2026 (AoE)
Registration: Same as ACM C&C 26

Abstract:
This fourth-edition, full-day workshop explores human-AI co-creation in visual storytelling through the gap-and-fill methodology, inspired by Eastern aesthetics of meaningful incompleteness. The morning half-day is dedicated to lightning presentations and structured group discussions, where participants share work-in-progress storyboards and document iterative negotiations between human creativity and AI capabilities. The afternoon half-day features a public pop-up exhibition open to all C&C attendees, showcasing participants’ visual narratives and process reflections. Focusing on accessibility, cross-cultural and decolonial design, algorithmic bias, and emergent HCI topics, the workshop positions visual storytelling as a rigorous and ethical HCI research methodology.