Is human-AI art real art? This is one of the multiple questions heating and dividing the AI debate nowadays. If AI “agents” might be an effective partner in the creative process or, instead, a threat is indeed not only a matter of discussion today, but also at the core of the debate on opportunities and risks on the use of Generative AI in the art sector. We must address these risks through tailor-made ethics and governance framework that considers human agency, inclusivity and a global approach. This paper addresses these questions by tackling ethical challenges in the collaboration between Generative AI (GenAI) and artists, redefining AI as an empowering partner in visual art creation rather than a replacement tool. We shed light on the need for decolonized and actionable ethical guidelines to redesign GenAI platforms that are inclusive, artist-centered, and ethically sound. While tools like MidJourney and DALL-E democratize access to creative resources, they raise concerns about authenticity, transparency, authorship, fairness, and cultural and automation biases. This paper aims to move beyond the conventional human-versus-machine debate, instead recognizing AI’s potential to unleash human creativity. We are calling for an interdisciplinary approach involving artists, ethicists, intellectual property experts, neurodiversity specialists, and AI professionals, to provide AI developers and art practitioners with policies and actionable recommendations based on real-world use cases. By harnessing art and ethics expertise, this paper brings to light how to foster human artist-AI collaboration that nurtures human ingenuity and safely supports a pluralistic experience of creativity.