The Webby Awards, in partnership with Adobe, are proud to present acclaimed designer and educator Norman Teague with a Webby Special Achievement in Creative AI at the 29th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 12th. Teague is being celebrated for his breakthrough MoMA exhibition Jam Sessions, where he integrated generative AI into his design practice to reinterpret iconic works through the lens of Black and Brown identities traditionally excluded from museums.

A cultural leader, designer and educator whose work spans museums, public installations, and global exhibitions, Teague has long used design as a tool to challenge dominant narratives and empower Black and Brown communities within the creative canon.

In Jam Sessions, his groundbreaking exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Teague and his studio used Adobe Firefly, the all-in-one app for AI-assisted content creation and production that is safe for commercial use, to reinterpret 15 iconic objects from MoMA’s collection through the lens of Black aesthetics, identity, and improvisation. The studio embraced an iterative, collaborative process that treated AI as a creative partner, not a replacement of human creativity. The results, some realized as full-scale prototypes, sparked global conversation about the role of technology in rewriting, not replicating, cultural history.

“Norman’s work proves that when artists shape the use of technology, it can do more than speed up creation,” said Jesse Feister, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It can unlock new forms of storytelling that are more representative, more expansive, and more deeply human.”

“Adobe is thrilled to partner with The Webby Awards to honor Norman Teague, whose design work exemplifies the powerful and responsible use of generative AI to reimagine the creative process,” said Hannah Elsakr, VP, New Business Ventures at Adobe. “We’re proud that Norman used Adobe’s Firefly tools as a ‘search engine for his imagination’ to accelerate his creativity.”

Beyond Jam Sessions, Teague’s influence stretches across the design world, from the Art Institute of Chicago to the Venice Architecture Biennale, where he represented the U.S. in Everlasting Plastics. His studio’s designs are included in the permanent collections at MoMA and LACMA, and he is a key collaborator on the exhibitions team for the Obama Presidential Center. Teague’s work blends traditional craft with emerging technology, continually pushing design to become more inclusive, contextual, and reflective of lived experience.

As part of this Special Achievement, The Webby Awards and Adobe commissioned industrial designer, creator, and educator Spencer Nugent to reimagine the design of the iconic Webby trophy for the first time in its history. Nugent incorporated Adobe Firefly into his early-stage workflow to experiment with form, materiality, and visual themes. Drawing on those generative explorations, he translated the concepts into a fully developed design. The resulting piece was then hand-built by designer Pooria Sohi as a fully realized, custom physical object. It will be revealed on-stage as a part of the awards ceremony.

About the Award: 
As part of a unique partnership with Adobe, The Webby Awards created the Special Achievement in Creative AI Award to recognize those using AI in transformative, artistic ways. Honorees are selected for their innovative application of AI, their commitment to ethical and inclusive creativity, and their contributions to expanding the boundaries of expression.