Outdoor installation takes cover

Photo: Jake Dunagan

Elements of our ambient foresight "exstallation", FoundFutures:Chinatown, described in these three previous posts, have been moved off the streets and into temporary residence at The Arts at Mark's Garage, Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu. They form part of an exhibition on Alternative Urban Futures which opened on Tuesday, and runs until 17 November. There is some other very cool stuff in the show which we haven't had a chance to look at closely, so far, but anyone in the area is encouraged to check it out.

The introductory matter to our contribution in the gallery reads as follows:

FoundFutures injects futures into the present. It is a multimedia, collaborative project based on the idea that a wider range of possible futures should be made visible and thinkable to people in their everyday lives. The project was created and is led by two doctoral candidates in political science at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, who are also futures researchers at the Hawai'i Research Center for Futures Studies (HRCFS). We aim to provoke thought, conversation, and action by creating and distributing art, artifacts, images, performances and other media that embody possible worlds to come.

Making alternative futures tangible is an antidote to the singular, colonized future we are given by mass media, consumer culture, and an intrinsically shortsighted political system. We want participants to be directly confronted with long-range choices, to feel just how different their various futures could be from the present, and from each other. We call this future-shock therapy. Our aim is not to push people towards particular conclusions, but simply to invite deeper engagement with the field of possibilities.

Photo: Jake Dunagan

This side of the display shows elements from an earlier foray into experiential scenarios, for "Hawaii 2050", a statewide discussion which launched in August 02006. These pieces suggest aspects of a high-tech future Hawai'i (artwork by Sky Kiyabu and Steve Kiyabu). Next, in May 02007, we sent to leaders across the community four postcards from alternative versions of Hawai'i in 02036, on consecutive days and with no return address (designed by Yumi Vong).

On the other side of this panel are elements from four immersive futures designed for our first foray into community and street art – FoundFutures:Chinatown. The first future (McChinatown) was staged for the First Friday art event on October 5. Two others have been displayed since (Green Dragon and The Bird Cage). One will continue beyond this show (Dig Deeper). If you are interested in exploring the futures of Chinatown and Hawaii beyond the urgent, immediate concerns of today, please consider attending our Chinatown Futures Workshop on 17 November (RSVP to info at foundfutures dot com). To discuss futures thinking, or specific issues raised by this distributed installation, don't hesitate to contact us.

Stuart Candy & Jake Dunagan
Directors, FoundFutures:Chinatown
22 October 02007

Photo: Jake Dunagan

Our contribution to the Arts at Marks exhibition has been quite an effort, involving many people. Below is a list of acknowledgements from Jake and me, as it appears at the show:

McCHINATOWN

Designers:
Jesse Arneson
Mark Guillermo
Ryan Yamamoto

Installation assistance:
Duk Bu
Brady Fern
JoDee and Ernie Hunt
Pegge Hopper
Rich Richardson
Roy Venters
Melanie Yang

Protesters:
Guen Montgomery (lead)
Jason Adams
Christina Hoe
Bianca Isaki
Rohan Kalyan
John Maus
Josh Pryor
Lorenzo Rinelli
Matthew Stits


GREEN DRAGON

Designer:
Yumi Vong
[for more of Yumi's outstanding work, check out her website]

Additional scenario
development:
Aaron Rosa

Cultural advisors:
Roger Ames
Matthew McDonald

Translations:
Chien-Yuan Chen
Tianyuan Huang

Installation assistance:
Brady Fern
Charles Wong


THE BIRD CAGE

Designer:
Matthew Jensen
[development of many of the beautiful artifacts for this scenario, designed or overseen by Matt, can be found at the Ritual Lab website, dating back about a month]

Additional artwork:
The Great Bendango
Kristin Dennis
Nathan Verrill

Installation assistance:
Oren Schlieman & Fran Butera
Tim Braden
Richard Lum, Worldwide Travel
Maya van Leemput & Bram Goots
Matthew Jensen

Production assistance:
Seong Won Park

Special thanks to
M.P. Lei Shop (at Maunakea & Pauahi), providers of leis for "Hang Ten flu" memorial plaque


This project would not have been possible without
the support of the following individuals:

Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau, Rich Richardson, and Erik Takeshita at The Arts at Mark's Garage

Matthew Jensen

Yumi Vong

Carolyn Borges at Tom Terrific's Printshop, Manoa

Prof Jim Dator, Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies


The contribution of the following is also much appreciated:

Steve Kiyabu
Sky Kiyabu
Ed Korybski
Chetan Mangat
Bernard Uy


Photography by:

Stuart Candy
Jake Dunagan
Bram Goots
Matthew Stits
Yumi Vong