With a growing number of public calls for new imaginaries, whether it be for our cities or on other scales, the question presents itself which possible forms of narrative can still mobilize the imagination or vision. Rather than looking at cultural dystopia’s or forthcoming utopias, this two-day summit - set-up by a roster of Rotterdam arts institutions in the framework of our joint yearlong Futurosity program - explores our relationship with the future and asks what kind of contingencies can be part of a vocabulary, be it artistic, fictional or otherwise, to re-empower it in the 21st century. The title of the summit is derived from Douglas Coupland's eponymous essay in which he asks: ‘How much future can our brains accept before they explode or implode?’.

The Futurosity Summit marks the end of the collaborative Futurosity project and offers a two-day program with lectures, workshops, tours and debate by artists, writers and thinkers. In addition to Witte de With's program which includes a keynote lecture by writer and artist Douglas Coupland together with writer Shumon Basar and a workshop by Julieta Aranda (artist) and Doreen Mende (curator and researcher Goldsmiths, University of London) in the framework of the 9th World Futurological Congress, there will be contributions by Max Dovey & Manetta Berends (artists), Helen Hester (Senior Lecturer in Media at the University of West-London), Charlie Koolhaas (artist and writer), Dennis Muñoz Espadiña (artist), Willem Schinkel (Professor of Social Theory at Erasmus University Rotterdam), Lukas Simonis (musician), Elfie Tromp (writer), Tommy Ventevogel (script writer) and Liesbet van Zoonen (professor of Sociology and dean of the Erasmus Graduate School of Social Sciences and the Humanities department at Erasmus University).

Click here for the full two-day program and for reservations.

Kunstblock is a collaborative group made up of art institutions in the Witte de With quarter: TENT, CBK Rotterdam, V2_Institute for the Unstable Media, Showroom MAMA, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art and Worm Institute for Avant-garde Recreation.

Futurosity is part of Rotterdam celebrates the city! (for the complete program go to: www.rotterdamcelebratesthecity.nl and is kindly supported by The Art of Impact.