Hidden Futures: Roadmaps

The future holds promising prospects. The future also holds frightening losses of control. The future is uncertain. It is no coincidence that humanity has always developed cultural techniques for taming the future. Paradise and apocalypse. Planning and failure. Shaping the present through imagining the future is an ongoing process – but it takes different forms and has different effects. Companies and institutions make decisions that shape their future. At the same time, communities design futures other than those intended for them. The question arises as to what constitutes sensible paths forward, depending on the specific situation. In this course, we will focus on the question: What visions of the future do we design in times of crisis? And, furthermore: Which ones are written with the promise of progress through technological developments? What is brought to the fore – and what remains hidden?

The course offers a combined format. It focuses on an excursion to a collaborative event organised by the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Kulturen des Forschens (Käte Hamburger Centre for Advanced Study and Research) with PACT Zollverein, framed by a preparatory and follow-up seminar. The two-day programme brings together artists and researchers who work on alternative visions of the future based on an in-depth look at the present. In the form of open studios, lectures and discussions, they explore alternative visions of the future based on an in-depth look at the present. ‘Hidden Futures: Roadmaps (AT)’ at PACT, brings together artists and researchers who are working on alternative visions of the future based on an in-depth look at the present. In the form of open studios, lectures, performances, installations and encounter formats, a roadmap is created that shows what attractive visions of the future beyond algorithmic forecasts, economic interests and technosolutionist narratives could look like.