Do you want to contribute to the transition towards a more sustainable way of living? Do you have a positive attitude and want to you use art and design to speculate on a better future? Join us in in the Futures & Presence minor and help create provocative visions and ideas that can trigger debates and new ways of thinking regarding the problems the world is facing today. 

We live in a time of multiple and complex global crises. These wicked problems are daunting; however, inaction is not an option if we wish to secure more equitable, sustainable and desirable futures. Artists and designers can play an active role in global collaborative problem-solving by creating scenarios and stories that inspire movements, template new ways of being, and trigger action. The lens Futures & Presence, serves as a beacon of optimism, introducing visionary methods and collaborative problem-solving approaches. As you engage with this minor, your goal is not only to understand the big issues of today but to inspire action and cultivate a more desirable and sustainable collective future. 
 
What we offer: 

This Futures & Presence Minor provides you with insights into speculative design methods and contemporary approaches through which you will engage with and write about theoretical concepts as well as learn how to create and implement digital and conceptual innovations in creative forms. You will be encouraged to reflect on your topic and field, and how you might integrate techniques and concepts that we explore in class into your scenarios. Our focus is on rethinking our relationship to specific topics and our shared stewardship of these topics: you are therefore encouraged to adopt a philosophical and experimental approach. The focus is put in the transition towards a more sustainable future. 

On a practical level, the program of the Minor Future and Presence is structured into two interrelated components.  A practice-based course where you develop your project/future scenario prototype, engaging with the diverse stations at WdKA. A research-based course where you analyse your work and research interconnecting contexts and future visions, classes will consist of workshops and individual guidance meetings. You will also formulate your position within a broad professional domain. Positioning and Professional skills will consist of a series of workshops. 

What we expect: We expect students to engage with the group discussions and your peers and to have a self-driven initiative. You will be taking ownership of your project. A show and share attitude is required for the creative process .. Experiment, trial and error, test. Open to collaborative and interdisciplinary working environments. Open to critical -constructive feedback. Be present. 

Research methods and approaches:  

• Speculative design, transition design, storytelling, critical thinking, desk and field research, prototyping, and positioning. 

Components:  

• Research and practice 

• You are able to make visible to an audience the personal intentions that stimulated your work –both on a political, ethical, and social level– and the motivations that led to your choice of medium/material and method. 
• You are able to apply storytelling to contribute to the developing, imagining, and communicating of future scenarios 
• You are able to use existing –and develop new– methods for fore-sighting and futures-oriented storytelling 
• You are able to use prototyping in the communication of speculative visions 
• You can carry out an artistic or design-based research –formulate a research question, use relevant sources, experiment and test ideas and materials, formulate a conclusion– that fits within the context of this Minor. 
• You are able to make work that creates not only economic value, but also social, cultural, and environmental value. 

This minor is open to WdKA students. Students from other institutes are required to send a portfolio and motivation. You will receive more information about this after you have registered for this minor. We advise students from other institutes to register at least one month before the deadline. The admission procedure takes at least two weeks. In case you are not accepted into the minor, you might need some time to register for another minor.

Deliverables: 

• Scenario prototype (media of choice) 
• Research process document (physical- visual collection of all your process and research) 
• Research document (3000 words max.) 
• Pitching presentation during the assessment week 
• A final collective public presentation is required. 

Working method:  

• Collaborative and individual 

Assessment: 

• Individual