A Response to Controversial Ai Art Created by VTBF

I hear you.

While the VTBF team and I love experimenting with new tech, many of you (some more kindly than others) educated & reminded us that AI comes with real concerns — from copyright and community displacement to environmental impacts, biases, and yes, even racism. Thank you to everyone who shared your perspective. While we understand AI is here to stay and very much a part of the world's future, moving forward -- the VTBF creative team and I are committed to learning more about these issues while limiting our use of AI.

To follow up on an earlier response some of you may have missed regarding our graphic artists -- The ai images created to announce VTBF2026 were never intended to replace our artists or to be official posters. Our artists remain a vital part of the team, they're still on the payroll, and currently working to create some new images.

Which leads me to this next announcement…

The official VTBF2026 poster — the plan this year, since the festival is a bit more streamlined, is to include and spotlight all participating VTBF2026 performers, showing off our community and making everyone a headliner.

Because performer registration just opened and runs through the end of November, we don’t yet know who the VTBF2026 performers are. We won’t begin designing or revealing the poster until sometime in December after registration has closed. So, please be patient with us, allow the process to process, and stay tuned!

Keep those positive and educational criticisms coming. The team and I will continue to improve, reinvent, and evolve this event with your continued kindness, creativity, and support.

Best,

Cory Royer

Below: The ai art that stirred controversy.