Modern Tools, Ancient Skills
This project began with a question I couldn’t let go of: What happens when traditional artisans, masters of analog, embodied knowledge, are invited to co-create with artificial intelligence? Modern Tools, Ancient Skills was a deeply personal exploration of that intersection, developed in collaboration with artisans in Antigua, Guatemala, and co-authored with Professor Paolo Cardini (RISD). My role focused on initiating and guiding the design framework, facilitating the collaboration, and drawing from my own cultural background to shape a respectful, reciprocal process. Together, we experimented with generative AI tools to reimagine the role of traditional craftsmanship in a world increasingly defined by digital workflows.
This wasn’t about replacing heritage with technology. It was about creating a space where both could coexist, sometimes in tension, sometimes in harmony. Through workshops, image-making, and hands-on production of bronze door knockers, the project unfolded as a layered conversation across time, tools, and cultures. I’m proud of how it challenged colonial power structures embedded in both design and AI, while also making space for the artisans to imagine their future on their own terms.
Framework and Ideation
This project began as a collaborative research inquiry into how generative AI might engage with traditional craft practices, particularly within a context I know intimately: Guatemala. I partnered with Professor Paolo Cardini and a group of bronze artisans in Antigua to investigate how AI tools could enter a creative dialogue with vernacular knowledge. I led the development of the conceptual framework and drew from my background in both design and Guatemalan culture to co-create a methodology centered on equity, experimentation, and cultural respect. Rather than using AI to “modernize” craft, we wanted to test whether these tools could amplify the voices of artisans and offer new design pathways without erasing the cultural richness embedded in their work.
Design and
Making Process
We structured the process into three phases: learning, designing, and making, each carefully scaffolded to ensure the artisans had agency and creative authorship. I introduced them to AI image-generation tools like OpenAI’s DALL·E through a series of remote tutorials and collaborative design sessions, using WhatsApp and Zoom as informal and accessible channels. The artisans explored prompt-writing in Spanish and quickly began generating visual concepts inspired by both tradition and new influences. From there, they translated AI images into physical prototypes using hand-carved molds and centuries-old sand casting techniques. Across three distinct scenarios, we tested different roles and workflows, artisan-led, client-inspired, and designer-led, to examine how agency shifted depending on who initiated the concept and who drove the conversation with the AI.
Reflections, Outcomes & Media
The project culminated in the production of three fully functional bronze door knockers, each representing a different temporal and cultural narrative: colonial past, globalized present, and speculative decolonial future. These objects were exhibited in the U.S., South America, and the Venice Biennale, sparking conversations about the power of hybrid workflows and the risks of cultural erasure in algorithmic systems. For me, the most meaningful outcome wasn’t just the artifacts, it was the mutual curiosity and respect that formed between participants. The younger generation of artisans, particularly the niece who served as our digital mediator, showed how intergenerational collaboration might sustain and even evolve traditional craft practices. This project became a quiet argument for more inclusive, culturally aware AI development, and a reminder that the future of making isn’t only about what we build, but how and with whom we build it.
See more, including our full research paper, at:
