A historian confronts ghosts from the past to understand the environmental crisis, while five artists concoct ways to survive what’s to come. Artist turned activist Ron Finley talks about the importance of staying grounded (literally), and we learn about the power of Decentralized technologies.
In a present where everything seems unstable, imagining brighter futures inspires us to transform how we live. The links below show us what’s possible.
Let Us Not Become Weary In Doing Good
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“Everything is connected,” says artist and activist Ron Finley. Finley uses his gardening project as a metaphor to explain how dismantling value systems—whether by touching the ground, or simply “not getting caught up in bullshit”—is essential for the future.
Message and Method
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“What will our landscape look like if we don’t hold industries accountable and change course? Is this the future we want our children to inherit?”. In this interview, artist and activist Hannah Chalew explores these questions and more in the context of her plant-organic installations.
The Future of Climate Careers
As the global environmental crisis evolves at alarming rates, the efforts we have seen from companies to contain it are no longer enough. Atmos spoke with the new generation of professionals, and they are ready to step up.
Interview with Ocean Vuong
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In the wake of anti-Asian hate crimes, poet Ocean Vuong and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon discuss the power of Asian American literature and the importance of myths in building a future, making a plea for the West to catch up with the East.
Future Myopia
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Mehitabel Glenhaber’s essay for Real Life Magazine blends sci-fi and history to understand the current environmental crisis while examining how previous generations considered future people disposable. By the time you reach the last sentence, you’ll have wondered: What can we learn to be able to look future generations in the eye?
Taking On Fast Fashion by Taking It Down
In this interview, a critic of the fast fashion industry, Hoda Katebi, speaks about reimagining the fashion industry, the limitations of identity politics, and assaulting capitalism with compassion and mercy.
Imagining Feminist Futures
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In this audio, we listen to the voices of seven sex workers talk about present-day feminism and what the future of a more inclusive movement might hold. This is a fragment of the audio recordings accompanying the ICA exhibition “Decriminalised Futures”, a group show where artists reflect on what can be created using different feminist perspectives on sex work as inspiration.
Age of Apocalypse
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Elephant asked five artists to imagine possible apocalyptic futures and the steps they would take to survive them. Self-pollinating humans, the integration of arts and medicine, and the blending of ancient traditions make it possible to envision brighter futures.
Other Networks
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Artist and educator Taeyoon Choi explores the effect of Decentralized Web technologies on racial, gender, and environmental justice. In addition, Choi considers how these technologies can create more caring artistic expressions and cultural connections in the future.
This list is part of our new New Futures series and features resources that inspire us to imagine alternative futures. The main image featured on this piece is the cover of Atmos Magazine’s Neo-Natural issue.
If you want to keep inspired, check out our story on how Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s artwork uses speculative design to dream of alternative futures, and our previous Link Lists.
Text: Maria Paris
