In 2023, Collective Futures focused on hearing from invited guests. We received and considered the work of artists and community activists and began to share our personal interpretation of what we are experiencing. Reflection has been a part of our sense-making; combining facts, feelings, interpretations and deciding what all of that means. Explore more here.
Collective Futures met at the Grundy Art Gallery to view the new neon work commissioned for Hybrid Futures, RA Walden’s The Universe is a Clock (i) Schrödinger’s equation, (time dependent), 2023 and the New Contemporaries exhibition. Find out how the group considered their own understanding of time in this full report of session 7 here.
Take a take a deep dive into the University of Salford’s Art Collection to consider permanence, ephemerality and the cultural and environmental cost of creating and collecting contemporary art with the Collective Futures cohort here.
The latest instalment of Hybrid Futures launches at Salford Museum & Art Gallery next week. Bringing together all the work from across the Hybrid Futures project, you’re invited to join us to celebrate the exhibition launch on the 21st of March.
5-7 PM, Thurs 21st March 2024
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Open to all and free to attend, refreshments provided.
RSVP here: salfordmuseum.com/event/opening-hybrid/
The exhibition brings together new work and co-commissions by Shezad Dawood, Jessica El Mal, Parham Ghalamdar and RA Walden that will mark one of the final phases of the Hybrid Futures pilot project exploring collective and more sustainable ways of working. The exhibition in Salford is presented by the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Salford Museum & Art Gallery. Read more about the exhibition here.
A prayer room, water and dates will be made available to anyone observing Ramadan. Want to attend earlier? We will be offering a quiet hour ahead of the exhibition launch. Please contact Rowan Pritchard if you would like to attend from 4 pm.
Planning on attending? After your visit to Hybrid Futures, don’t miss Nikta Mohammadi: Memory Stone Preview at The Lowry, also on the 21st of March from 6 until 8pm.
To travel to The Lowry from Salford Museum and Art Gallery, catch the 50 bus from the Crescent (opposite the Museum), to Media City UK. The 50 is part of The Bee Network, with easy access on all busses. For more information visit: https://tfgm.com/public-transport/bus/stops/1800NF31221/50
Liz Postlethwaite of Small Things Creative Projects helped the collective to explore what regenerative means to them. Read more about the rich process here.
Friday 10 May 2024 10.00am – 4.45pm
The Old Fire Station, University of Salford & Salford Museum and Art Gallery
What are the environmental issues currently facing museum collections, art galleries and artists?
Is it possible to make your work more sustainable in the visual arts sector?
How can arts organisations and their local communities work together to influence change?
Is there the potential to test ideas and new ways of working in order to create a robust and effective model to change the way that galleries should operate in the future?
Join the Hybrid Futures partners, artists, commissioners, funders, community members and consultants for conversation and activity as we share our learning and explore together concrete actions our sector can take to create enduring and effective models of sustainable practice for galleries and museums.
Get updates on the Hybrid Futures Symposium programme and book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hybrid-futures-making-showing-collecting-art-in-a-time-of-climate-crisis-tickets-837365973167
Artist Hilary Powell and filmmaker Dan Edelstyn walked the Collective Futures group through their work and the motivation for POWER.
Dan and Hilary trade as Optimistic Foundation CIC, a creative and community-based organisation that focuses on shifting power and subverting power structures. Power as energy and power as financial system, taking on projects to wipe out decades of debt and galvanising communities to take direct action. Hilary and Dan use their sphere of influence to incrementally and strategically build a vision of a better future and develop strategies to resource this.
Watch their presentation here.
Hybrid Futures Climate Case Study: Leviathan: From the Forest to the Sea exhibition at Touchstones, Rochdale 3 June- 12 August 2023
Leviathan: From the Forest to the Sea opened at Touchstones Rochdale featuring the 8th film in Shezad Dawood’s Leviathan Cycle, plus a series of physical artworks – was the first of the Hybrid Futures branded exhibitions to open.
As part of the Hybrid Futures project, staff at Touchstones and the team at Shezad’s studio collected as much data as they could about the energy, transport and material use associated with the exhibition. This information was then analysed by Danny Chivers, the Environmental Advisor to the project, to see what could be learned about the climate impact of the show.
Read the headline results in this pdf.
Read more about Hybrid Futures and sustainabilty here.
For Session 3, the Collective Futures group met online. Each brought an object which holds a resonance in connection to the climate crisis and shared why it is meaningful. Find out more and see the objects here.
As part of GRUNDY AT LIGHTPOOL: Neon, New Media and Natural Light Grundy Art Gallery is presenting work from Shezad Dawood and RA Walden, developed as part of Hybrid Futures.
THE UNIVERSE IS A CLOCK(i) Schrödinger’s equation, time dependent a new co-commission by RA Walden and Island Pattern a co-acquisition by Shezad Dawood will both be on display at Grundy Art Gallery until the 16th of December.
Read more about GRUNDY X LIGHTPOOL X HYBRID FUTURES here.
Grundy Art Gallery invites you to celebrate Lightpool with them at their late-night opening on Friday 20th October, where the gallery will remain open until 7pm.
In addition, you are invited to attend the Lightpool Creative Conference on Saturday 21st October. Visit Eventbrite for full information and to book your free tickets.
