From the Art World to Tech Ex: A Quiet Shift, Same Vision

For the past three years, my world has revolved around art. Building, experimenting, pushing ideas forward, and trying to create meaningful space for creativity, community, and the ongoing Nick Fraser journey. Like many artists, I spent years navigating funding applications, grants, conversations, and closed doors, hoping that persistence alone would unlock sustainability.

Eventually, I had to face a hard truth: despite the passion and effort, the model wasn’t working. Not in a way that gave me time, financial stability, or the freedom to create at the level I knew was possible.

So I stepped sideways, not away from art, but toward something that could support it.

A Quiet Pivot understanding AI and App Development

Around seven months ago, I began quietly teaching myself app development and immersing myself in the rapidly evolving world of AI. This wasn’t a sudden leap driven by hype. It was curiosity and a need to understand where the world is heading, and how humans fit into that future.

I wanted to explore a bigger question:

How do we work with AI to enhance human skills, protect knowledge, and use technology responsibly, rather than letting it run unchecked?

Having experienced first hand how difficult it can be to access funding and opportunity in the creative world, I began thinking differently about income, sustainability, and scale. What if I could build something that created financial stability… not just for myself, but for future creative projects, communities, and collaborative work?

Building With Purpose

I connected with a close friend I’ve known for over 30 years, and together we began shaping ideas into real tools. We weren’t interested in building for novelty. We were interested in building for responsibility.

As AI adoption accelerates in workplaces across industries, we kept asking the same questions:

Who’s governing this technology?

Who’s safeguarding it?

Who’s protecting sensitive data as employees integrate AI into daily workflows?

From those questions came action. Behind the scenes, we developed several apps and tools designed for both public and private sectors, with security, governance, and real-world use cases at their core.

Recognition and an Unexpected Invitation

Spending extended time working with AI app development platforms eventually led to something unexpected: being selected as a power pilot user. This meant I gained early access to tools, updates, and capabilities before public release. Plus the chance to test, break, and shape systems in real-world scenarios.

That opportunity opened another door: an invitation to attend TechEx.

TechEx: Seeing the Bigger Picture

Today was less about spectacle and more about perspective.

Meeting leading global tech companies, seeing what’s already live, and understanding where the next few years are heading gave clarity, we’re at a crossroads. AI is no longer theoretical, it’s operational, and the decisions being made now around ethics, governance, and accessibility will shape everything that follows.

A Stepping Stone, Not a Destination

Most people who know me know I’ll have a go at almost anything, not recklessly, but curiously. Today felt like another stepping stone.

The long-term vision remains the same:

Create sustainability.

Protect creativity.

Use technology to support people. Not replace them.

Then reinvest back into art, community and meaningful work.