Futurosity Summit

"Destiny is what we work toward. The future doesn't exist yet.
Fate is for losers!- Douglas Coupland

Which forces move the present towards the future? What obstacles do we encounter when trying to visualize the future? Or is 'the future' an outdated concept that needs to be revised?

As part of Futurosity, a one-year project by Kunstblock in collaboration with artist and writer Douglas Coupland, the two-day Futurosity Summit will sharpen our relationship to the concept of the future. We are increasingly calling for alternative visions of the future, whether it is about the future of the city or on a different scale. The question is which inspiring stories and images can still fuel our vision and imagination. Instead of sketching possible utopias, this symposium will investigate which artistic or fictional language offers us starting points to form an image of the future for the 21 century.

The Summit is the focal point of the Futurosity project - part of Rotterdam celebrates the city! - and offers a two-day program of lectures, workshops, tours and debates by artists, writers and thinkers with a keen eye on the future. Inspirator Douglas Coupland, for example, will give a Keynote lecture together with Shumon Basar on 18 May, and will unveil a new slogan for Rotterdam in the context of Slogans for Rotterdam. In addition, there are contributions from Max Dovey & Manetta Berends, Helen Hester, Charlie Koolhaas, Dennis Muñoz Espadiña, Willem Schinkel, Lukas Simonis, Elfie Tromp, Tommy Ventevogel and Liesbeth van Zoonen.

TENT and SIR organize program components for the Futurosity Summit: Slogans for Rotterdam at TENT and the tour Coolsingel as a Monument from SIR.

Click here for the entire program

Kunstblock is the name of the collaboration of art institutions in the Witte de Withkwartier: TENT, CBK Rotterdam, V2_ Institute for Instable Media, Showroom MAMA, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art and WORM, Institute for Avant-garde Recreation. Futurosity is part of Rotterdam is celebrating the city! and is supported by the Municipality of Rotterdam and The Art of Impact.