Research

With, against and around: art meets new technologies

I study how artists work with new technologies, and I experiment with these tools myself. My research follows professional artists as they work with generative AI and mixed reality: how they navigate the tools, resist them, and turn their glitches and limits into creative material. Alongside interviews, I run experimental workshops, take part in performances and bring my own artistic practice into the research. The question underneath it all is what happens to creative work when technology pushes back.

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the IT University of Copenhagen and an affiliated researcher at the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence. Since 2024 I have been project manager of XTREME, an €8M Horizon Europe project with 14 partners, including MUNCH Museum Oslo and the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, building mixed-reality experiences for art and culture.

Research themes

Malfunction as method How artists treat the failures and limitations of generative AI as creative material rather than problems to fix.
Friction and play Timing, control and surprise when people make and perform together with technology in real time.
Attribution and disclosure How AI-mediated artworks tell audiences what the machine did, and why that is a design question.
Art and XR in institutions What actually happens when museums and opera houses build mixed-reality work, from first idea to stage.

Experiments and workshops (selected)

Dissonance Workshop,
NordiCHI 2026

A two day workshop finalised with a live performance with generative AI: short pieces made with models that lag, drift and take the lead, with the friction performed rather than hidden. 
Try the Fly Amp →

XTREME on stage production
2024-2026

On-site production at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, Helsinki, and prototype tests with artists Silvana Imam and Paula Strunden at MUNCH in Oslo, Norway:
Visit XTREME page →

ART-BASED METHODS
since 2022

A series of workshops turning how artists work into tools for reflection and change. Participants explore a turning point in their lives through three mindsets: Researcher, Designer and Artist.
Visit “Living like an artist” workshop page →

Recent publications:

From Malfunction to Method: Artistic Strategies for Working with GenAI’s Limitations 
Starostka et al., Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction NordiCHI 2026, Vaasa, October 2026

“Happy accidents” vs “glitch in the system”: different framings of artists working with GenAI,
Starostka J., Position paper for the Dissonance The Dissonance Workshop: Live Performance and Generative Friction with AI, NordiCHI 2026, Vaasa, October 2026in NordiCHI 2026, Vaasa 

Designing Attribution: Technical Disclosure in AI-Mediated Art
Starostka J. et al., DIS ’26 Companion: Companion Publication of the 2026 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, Singapore, June 2026

Not a Bug, but a Feature: How Artists Navigate and Amplify the Limits of GenAI
Starostka, ACM DIS 2025 Workshop on Design Research & GenAI, Madeira, June 2025

From Sound to Sight: Towards AI-authored Music Videos
Vitasovic, Graßhof, Kloft, Lehtola, Cunneen, Starostka, McGarry, Li & Brandt. Best Demo Award, ICCV 2025 Workshop on Generative AI for Storytelling (AISTORY), Hawaii, November 2025

Earlier work: design, facilitation and participation

Before turning to art and technology, my research looked at how design and creative facilitation work inside organisations and the public sector. Selected:

Recent scientific conferences attended (selected)

Collaborate

I’m open to joint grant applications, experimental workshops and teaching collaborations from 2027. Write to me at hi@justyna.dk.

Visit my IT-University’s PURE research profile here and LinkedIn here.