The Mapping Future Imaginaries network is a cartography of speculations on a world to come. Mapping Future Imaginaries is a project for generating actions towards future utopias during times of immense uncertainty and flux: social, economic, environmental, and political.
Network members are scholars, artists, industry professionals, across local and global communities. The network presents different orientations, ideas and standpoints and an interconnected web of future possibilities for diverse individuals, communities and the world.
We imagine future citizens and new civics in these utopias, we imagine non-human, more-than-human futures, and social and environmental futures that shift away from the damage of current structures and prejudices. We speculate on elemental and material futures as we mine and waste resources and cause changes to our ecosystems.
Through experimental modes and practices the Mapping Future Imaginaries network explores uncommon ideas and possibilities for future living.
Rationale
Catastrophic events, most recently associated with climate and the global pandemic prompt us to urgently and critically think about the impacts of these on future society and individuals, communities, global systems, nature, and environments. Thanks to campaigns such as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, #StopFunding Hate, and #ChangeTheDate there is increasing awareness of the effects of disadvantage caused by exclusion and prejudice. Given this growing awareness it is clear that transdisciplinary, strategic approaches are urgently needed to proactively design for positive futures during this period of great change.
Aims
Mapping Future Imaginaries places the ideas of scholars, practitioners and experts ‘in relation’ to build an interconnected, cartographic web of strategies and aspirations for envisaging and designing future utopias.
This cartographic web will increase in density and complexity over time and will form a provocative skeleton of important practical and logistical connections between environmentalists, designers, educators, artists, medical professionals, planners, philosophers, economists and others. The diverse ways that different experts develop resilience plans and tools for managing a world that seems out of control, and for positively imagining new futures are shaped in profound ways through the connection points of their research and practice.
Mapping Future Imaginaries will initiate different activities throughout the year.
The network will form an important ideas hub that collectively addresses National Research Priorities in environmental science, and social wellbeing by featuring experts that creatively strategise for living in an altered world, improve well-being and support system resilience.
Mapping Future Imaginaries – News
- Recording of New Directions in Radical Cartography book launchEarlier in February, the LivingMaps network hosted a launch of their latest collaborative effort: Cohen, P. & Duggan, M. (Eds.) (2021) New Directions in Radical Cartography: Why the Map is Never the Territory. Rowman & Littlefield. Many members of Mapping Future Imaginaries contributed to the book, so check out the video recording of the eventContinue reading “Recording of New Directions in Radical Cartography book launch”
- November newsletter
- MFI video conversationsA new MFI project commenced this week – the video conversations series. These short, 15 minute conversations enable MFI members to talk about how their work investigates speculative ideas about the world. The collection is listed in the MFI website, and housed in Vimeo and YouTube
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