New Museum's 'New Humans' Exhibit Explores Post-Art Era

The show raises questions about the future of human creativity in the age of AI

Mar. 21, 2026 at 6:51pm

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The New Museum's 2025-2026 exhibit 'New Humans: Memories of the Future' has sparked debate about the potential end of 'contemporary art' as we know it. The show, along with a previous 2025 exhibit in Chicago titled 'This Is Post-Theory Art', seem to be grappling with how human art and creativity will evolve in an era of advanced artificial intelligence. Critics argue these exhibits are trying to identify and define new frameworks for understanding the relationship between humans, art, and the 'empty intelligence' of machines.

Why it matters

As AI and machine learning become increasingly sophisticated, there are growing questions about the future role and authority of human-created art and creativity. These exhibits suggest artists and critics are trying to make sense of this shifting landscape and what it means for the very nature of art and human expression.

The details

The 2025 'This Is Post-Theory Art' exhibit in Chicago and the New Museum's 'New Humans: Memories of the Future' show both appear to be exploring similar themes around the changing relationship between humans and machines in the creative realm. While the 'post-theory art' concept has been criticized as too broad and unsupported by art historical research, the exhibits seem to be grappling with the idea that something fundamental is shifting in how we understand and define human art and creativity.

  • The 'This Is Post-Theory Art' exhibit took place in Chicago in 2025.
  • The 'New Humans: Memories of the Future' exhibit is running at the New Museum in New York from 2025 to 2026.

The players

Ben Davis

A critic who reviewed the New Museum's 'New Humans: Memories of the Future' exhibit and speculated that 'the project of 'contemporary art' may be ending'.

Adam Daley Wilson

The artist behind the 'This Is Post-Theory Art' exhibit in Chicago, who has since walked back the overly broad implications of the 'post-theory art' concept.

Engage Projects Gallery

The Chicago gallery that hosted the 'This Is Post-Theory Art' exhibit in 2025.

New Museum

The major art institution in New York that is hosting the 'New Humans: Memories of the Future' exhibit from 2025 to 2026.

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What they’re saying

“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”

— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident

What’s next

The New Museum's exhibit 'New Humans: Memories of the Future' will continue running through 2026, providing an ongoing platform for exploring the evolving relationship between humans, art, and artificial intelligence.

The takeaway

These exhibits suggest artists and critics are grappling with fundamental questions about the future of human creativity and expression in an age of advanced AI. While the 'post-theory art' concept may be flawed, the underlying issues being explored - about the changing nature of art, the authority of human-made work, and the implications of 'empty intelligence' - are likely to remain central concerns as technology continues to evolve.