The Future Starts Here

The Future Starts Here seeks to reunite the fields of art, design, science, and technology, after more than a century of separation. By cutting across these disciplines and placing them in dialogue, we once again reflect the contemporary reality of creative production and are able to draw a new picture of an emerging future.’

‘If the Great Exhibition of 1851 sought to make sense of a world in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, The Future Starts Here assembles technologies and products in order to make sense of the nascent digital revolution.’

Exhibition at the V&A, London.

'The world of tomorrow is shaped by the designs and technologies emerging today. From smart appliances to satellites, this exhibition brings together more than 100 objects either newly released or in development that point towards where society might be headed. Although some may seem straight our of science fiction, they are all real, produced by research labs, universities, designers' studios, governments and corporations.

Guided by ethical and speculative questions, we invite you to step into four scenarios – self, public, planet and afterlife – each evoking increasing scales of technological impact. How might these objects affect the way you live, learn and even love?

The undeniable physical reality of these objects may give the impression that the future is already fixed. But new things contain unpredictable potentials and possibilities, often unanticipated even by their creators. It is up to us – as individuals, as citizens and even as a species – to determine what happens next. While the objects here suggest a certain future, it is not yet determine the future we get is up to us. The future starts here.'

Supported by the VOLKSWAGEN GROUP

'As part of the process of becoming a leading global provider of sustainable mobility, the Volkswagen Group is actively involved in shaping the future by introducing pioneering technologies and fulfilling its commitment as a strong partner for customers and employees worldwide. This progress is driven by our sustained appreciation for creativity, which powers engineers and artists alike. Through our partnerships, including our collaboration with the V&A, we encourage people to develop their imagination and inventiveness. The courage to generate new ideas is inspired by experiencing a variety of creative work and is why the Volkswagen Group focuses so much of its social responsibility on the support of cultural institutions and artists. 

 

 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

 


Book

Edited by Rory Hyde and Mariana Pestana with Kieran Long 
Assistant Editor Zara Arshad

Note: the VW group produced the entire book and exhibition - their link to the fossil fuel industry, in which petrocapitalism is in their best interests, makes their agendas and contexts questionable, in relation to Demos' comments in Against The Anthropocene. This is again seen through their use of the terminology Anthropocene within the book. 

Context:

'The V&A was born our of the idea to host a collective event to make sense of the future. The Museum's origins trace back to the first Great Exhibition staged in the Crystal Palace, London, in 1851. This exhibition brought together the greatest achievements of the world, combining fine arts with new technologies, machinery and even raw materials. Presented in a flat hierarchy, examples of art, design and technology were displayed alongside one another, providing an overarching picture of the scientific and cultural innovations that would usher in the modern world. Many of these objects formed the basis of the collection of the South Kensington Museum as a means of preserving this one-off event in an enduring public institution.

Some decades later, at the end of the 19th century, this all-encompassing structure had become unwieldy, and two new museums were created to provide some distinction. Reflecting the logic of the age, obsessed as it was with categorisation, the collection was divided into distinct specialist: the machines and technology were transferred to the Science Museum, while the art and design were kept in the no names V&A. Thus this brief period of a unified approach to creativity came to a close.

Albeit on a more modest scale, The Future Starts Here seeks to reunite the fields of art, design, science and technology, after more than a century of separation. By cutting across these disciplines and placing them in dialogue, we once again reflect the contemporary reality of creative production, and are able to draw a new picture of an emerging future.'