In times characterized by complexity, disruption and an unprecedented speed of change, uncertainty about the future is staring us in the face. Throughout history, artists have deciphered prospective futures in their work; from Neolithic shrines and cave paintings, to modern film interpretations of utopian and dystopian futures. Can these creative outputs be used effectively to help minimize the shock of the new, and allow for a positive unified vision of our shared future?
The goal of the Salzburg Global Seminar program, The Shock of the New: Arts, Technology and Making Sense of the Future, was to identify ways in which artists, technologists, scientists and futurists could harness the transformative power of the arts to make sense of and advance our understanding of the future (or futures).
