Holiday Spiders will replace controversial winning entry as the official 45th Annual Bozeman Christmas Stroll Poster.
The Downtown Bozeman Partnership Management Committee has decided to refrain from printing and distributing winning entry as the official 45th Annual Christmas Stroll Poster.
By Jeff Schlapp
BOZEMAN — After days of controversy swirling around the winning entry of the official 45th Annual Christmas Stroll Poster, the Bozeman Partnership Management Committee announced on Wednesday that it will not print and advertise the poster but instead will “showcase a photo of our beloved Holiday Spiders on the official Christmas Stroll Poster.”
The controversy began when the Downtown Business Association announced Ghassane Moutaoukil’s winning entry for its official 45th Annual Christmas Stroll Poster contest. Almost immediately, online comments began to surface claiming the entry was created using artificial intelligence. Although there were no rules against the use of AI, many artists took a stance, arguing that the whole purpose of the contest was to draw, not to generate a Christmas Stroll Poster.
Moutaoukil denies using AI to create the poster.
