Alcalá de Henares artist claims AI used for festival poster

An artist, Juan Pedro Pintado (known as Pinty), has accused the Alcalá de Henares City Council of using artificial intelligence to recreate his original illustrations for the official 2026 Feria y Fiestas poster.

Pintado, a local artist and founder of the Peña Los Vikingos, claims the characters in the municipal poster bear striking similarities to the avatars he designed in 2023 for local social clubs (peñas). He stated that he had only granted reproduction rights to the Coordinadora de Peñas, not to the City Council or any other institution. He expressed shock at seeing his work “fed to an AI” to produce the promotional imagery.

The City Council has defended the poster, asserting that the characters were created internally. The festival is scheduled to take place from August 22 to August 30, 2026.