Solarpunk Worldbuilding

Design Fiction as Worldbuilding & Sense-Making for Speculative Solarpunk Futures

DESIGN FICTION OTHERWORLDBUILDING

A rendering of Los Angeles County Museum of Art as it is in an adjacent timeline where Solarpunk values are integral to the world — LACMA in an Adjacent Now in which Solarpunk values are integral to the world.

Project Summary

With 36 hours notice, the Near Future Laboratory put together a proposal for a art+technology-style residency program. NFL was exploring what Solarpunk was, alongside of some of Solarpunk's thought-leadership. We decided to quickly respond to the RFP by proposing that we worldbuild in public, creating translations of the Solarpunk values and sensibilities translated into artifacts like a catalog of Solarpunk supplies, articles about the happenings in the Solarpunk world, and so forth. We also proposed public workshops for young adults on futuring and worldbuilding.

Client: Near Future Laboratory, Hyundai Artlab, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Client URL: https://nearfuturelaboratory.com

Team: Near Future Laboratory

Project Year: 2022

Project Duration: 1 Week

Published On: Mar 8, 2024, 11:06

Updated On: Mar 8, 2024, 11:06

Written By: Julian Bleecker

Project Semantic Tags 3D DESIGN3D RENDERINGLACMAPITCH DECKSPECULATIVE DESIGNART+TECHNOLOGYDESIGN FICTIONMUSEUMSOLARPUNKWORLDBUILDING

The Project

A proposal put together for LACMA Hyundai Artlab to worldbuild a solarpunk + crypto possible future written at a time when Solarpunk and Crypto were in a confused state of ascendency within the cultural imaginary.

The Outcomes

Articulating a more comprehensive opinion about what Solarpunk meant to Near Future Laboratory, even if it was in the form of a proposal for an arts grant, was exceptionally valuable in that it identified members of the larger community who had an interest in engaging in the 'Solarpunk conversation' more extensively.

This ultimately led to starting an internal Solarpunk + Design Fiction project to create an artifact (a children's A-B-C book) from the perspective of the Solarpunk world.

A project timeline/graph — Project Timeline for a Solarpunk world-building project

Images from the Near Future Laboratory proposal to LACMA's R+D Lab.

Want to learn more? Curious how we work? Feel like your organization could use a bit more Imagination to help make sense of the dynamic character of a kinetic marketplace?
Use the Contact Form below to discuss how you can engage Near Future Laboratory to help you make sense of your organization's possible futures.