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| the_art_of_futuring [2019-03-12 17:19] – maja | the_art_of_futuring [2019-03-13 09:50] – maja |
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| ===== The Art Of Futuring ===== | ===== The Art Of Futuring ===== |
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| <blockquote>To describe the creative process of exploring futures, we use the term 'futuring'. We could have chosen other phrases such as 'future studies', 'speculative design' or 'strategic foresight', but 'to future' as a verb encapsulates the engaged, active attitude that we believe is essential when sending probes into these realms. Futuring can be a complex activity involving many facets, or it can be as simple as telling a story that begins with 'What if…'. The process can be individual but is often a collective, participatory exercise. It tends to work best when different modes of knowing and learning are involved – from analytical to generative and synthesising, rational to somatic, intuitive and interpersonal. | The purpose of futuring is not to predict the future. Instead, futuring is a way to inform your decisions and actions in the present. It allows you to let go of the status-quo and imagine how situations could develop otherwise. Futuring can situate your visions and ideas in the wider contexts in which you operate. Imagining a range of possible futures can help you articulate coherent visions while also developing a capacity to adapt to whatever the future might bring. |
| </blockquote> | |
| | To describe the creative process of exploring futures, we use the term 'futuring'. We could have chosen other phrases such as 'future studies', 'speculative design' or 'strategic foresight', but 'to future' as a verb encapsulates the engaged, active attitude that we believe is essential when sending probes into these realms. Futuring can be a complex activity involving many facets, or it can be as simple as telling a story that begins with 'What if…'. The process can be individual but is often a collective, participatory exercise. It tends to work best when different modes of knowing and learning are involved – from analytical to generative and synthesising, rational to somatic, intuitive and interpersonal. |
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| * https://fo.am/events/art-futuring/ | * https://fo.am/events/art-futuring/ |
| * https://fo.am/events/art-futuring-workshop/ | * https://fo.am/events/art-futuring-workshop/ |
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| ===== Techniques from the workshop ===== | The workshop is designed and facilitated by Maja Kuzmanovic (FoAM), as part of the Futurology of Co-Operation project by Anna Czapski & Diederik Peeters, supported by KASK, SPIN and Kunstenpunt. |
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| During the [[https://fo.am/events/art-futuring-workshop/|Art of Futuring Workshop]] we experimented with a series of techniques to probe possible futures. | Workshop participants: Bilal Alnouri, Hazal Arda, Anna Czapski, Delphine Hesters, Pierre Huyghebaert, Joris Janssens, Heike Langsdorf, Sarah Magnan, Mathilde Maillard, Diederik Peeters, Martina Petrovic, Anna Rispoli, Clara Thomine, Emmanuelle Wattier, Adva Zakai |
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| | {{ ::aof-workshop-schedule.pdf |Workshop schedule}}\\ |
| | [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/albums/72157705907755211|Photo album]]\\ |
| | {{::futurestechniques_march2019_notesdelphine.pdf |Notes from the workshop}} by Delphine Hesters |
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| | ===== Futuring Techniques ===== |
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| | The Art of Futuring Workshop offered a hands-on experience of futuring techniques for artists, arts organisations and other members of the cultural proletariat. Futuring techniques were introduced through experiential learning. We experimented with techniques for analysing the current situation and emergent signals. We speculated on future scenarios and prototype futures as embodied experiences in the present. We used these experiments to reflect on the futuring methods, on the applicability of futuring in the participants' work and life, and on the need for a more widespread futures literacy in uncertain times. |
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| <blockquote>The conundrum of the Unthinkable and the Unimaginable is everyone’s issue – certainly not just ‘futurists’, nor designers, nor those who happen to have dedicated themselves to political theory or activism; nor just the displaced former residents of New Orleans, nor yet the casualties of Detroit’s seemingly inexorable decline. It is everyone’s problem. Futures studies is a community of thinkers that has defined and directly addressed it as such. But the Great Conversation needs to belong to us all, as do all the discursive technologies, principles of experiential futures design, and other paraphernalia of wiser, ongoing conversation and political self-reinvention. | <blockquote>The conundrum of the Unthinkable and the Unimaginable is everyone’s issue – certainly not just ‘futurists’, nor designers, nor those who happen to have dedicated themselves to political theory or activism; nor just the displaced former residents of New Orleans, nor yet the casualties of Detroit’s seemingly inexorable decline. It is everyone’s problem. Futures studies is a community of thinkers that has defined and directly addressed it as such. But the Great Conversation needs to belong to us all, as do all the discursive technologies, principles of experiential futures design, and other paraphernalia of wiser, ongoing conversation and political self-reinvention. |
| —Stuart Candy, The Futures of Everyday Life | —Stuart Candy, The Futures of Everyday Life |
| </blockquote> | </blockquote> |
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| | {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/32408521477/i}}\\ |
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| == Visualising scenario answers == | == Visualising scenario answers == |
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| We visualised the answers as posters or moodboards, to get a sense of the divergent look-and-feel of the alternative futures. | We visualised the answers as posters or moodboards, to get a sense of the divergent look-and-feel of the alternative futures. Read more about creating moodboards [[:/futurist_fieldguide/moodboards|here]]. Making a poster is similar to creating the front page of a newspaper or magazine. Read more about this approach [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/newspaper|here]]. |
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| {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/47297670692/in/dateposted/}}\\ | {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/47297670692/in/dateposted/}}\\ |
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| Read more about creating moodboards [[:/futurist_fieldguide/moodboards|here]] | |
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| Making a poster is similar to creating the front page of a newspaper or magazine. Read more about this approach [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/newspaper|here]]. | |
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| == Closed eye visioning / mental time travel == | == Closed eye visioning / mental time travel == |
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| Closed eye visioning is a meditative/introspective technique where the participants explore different scenarios with their eyes closed, guided by the facilitator’s open questions. | Closed eye visioning is a meditative/introspective technique where the participants explore different scenarios with their eyes closed, guided by the facilitator’s open questions. You can find the text read by the facilitator at the workshop {{ ::aof-timetravel.pdf |here}}. This text used elements of [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/day_in_the_life|"a day in the life"]] technique, to imagine what one day in each of the scenarios might be like. |
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| Here is a description of a similar exercise, using four generic futures: https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/closed_eye_visioning | Here is a description of a similar closed eye visioning exercise, using four generic futures: https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/closed_eye_visioning |
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| {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/33474762488/in/dateposted/}}\\ | {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/33474762488/in/dateposted/}}\\ |
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| In the Art of Futuring workshop we used elements of [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/day_in_the_life|"a day in the life"]] technique to imagine what one day in each of the scenarios might be like. | |
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| == Personal backstory == | == Personal backstory == |
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| The backstory can be created for the scenario as a whole, although at the Art of Futuring Workshop each participant worked on developing a personal backstory (as a written exercise). | The backstory can be created for the scenario as a whole, although at the Art of Futuring Workshop each participant worked on developing a personal backstory (as a written exercise). |
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| === Prototyping === | === Prototyping === |
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| {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/40385138183/in/dateposted/}}\\ | {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/40385138183/in/dateposted/}}\\ |
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| ==== Preferred futures ==== | ==== Preferred futures ==== |
| At the Art of Futuring Workshop we explored the [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/appreciative_inquiry_interviews|discovery phase]] of appreciative inquiry. Read more about appreciative inquiry [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/appreciative_inquiry|here]]. | At the Art of Futuring Workshop we explored the [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/appreciative_inquiry_interviews|discovery phase]] of appreciative inquiry. Read more about appreciative inquiry [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/appreciative_inquiry|here]]. |
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| {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamfish/499932920}}\\ | |
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| === Backcasting === | === Backcasting === |
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| Read more about TOC Outcomes Framework [[https://www.theoryofchange.org/what-is-theory-of-change/how-does-theory-of-change-work/example/completing-the-framework/|here]]. | Read more about TOC Outcomes Framework [[https://www.theoryofchange.org/what-is-theory-of-change/how-does-theory-of-change-work/example/completing-the-framework/|here]]. |
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| === Prehearsal === | === Prehearsal === |
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| Read more about pre-enactments [[:/futurist_fieldguide/pre-enactment|here]] | Read more about pre-enactments [[:/futurist_fieldguide/pre-enactment|here]] |
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| === Invocation === | === Invocation === |
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| At the Art of Futuring Workshop we invoked: one thing for yourself, one for the group and one for all beings. We used our voices and bodies to invoke these realities into being... | At the Art of Futuring Workshop we invoked: one thing for yourself, one for the group and one for all beings. We used our voices and bodies to invoke these realities into being... |
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| ==== Process facilitation ==== | ==== Process facilitation ==== |
| Read more about this technique [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/adaptive_action_cycle|here]] | Read more about this technique [[https://libarynth.org/futurist_fieldguide/adaptive_action_cycle|here]] |
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| {{ :futurist_fieldguide:adaptive-action.png?direct&300 |}} | |
| | {{>http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/46627345314/}}\\ |
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nik