Talk:Good Ancestors exhibition 2024
Thoughts on the reception of the exhibit
The exhibit Good Ancestors: Art and Culture for Future Generations at the UN in September 2024 was impressive. It showed long-term art and cultural practices can inspire people to take on a new perspective. Different examples resonate with different viewers, but for many they seemed to make future generations feel more real, the future feel longer. They can also increase awareness of the implicit assumption of the continuation of the cycle of generations, its vulnerability in the face of technological progress and its dependency on human behaviour.
The examples and ideas seemed to be novel to most viewers. The concepts need a few minutes to sink in, letting people take that much time is a challenge. Explanations or a reason to stop and think are helpful. A visitor commented that she is not easily impressed by such exhibits and therefore would normally have walked past it. She was glad she was triggered to stop and found these examples unusually powerful and thought provoking, deserving more time to reflect and revisit.
It remains to be seen if this exhibit really can support the implementation of the UN Declaration on Future Generations adopted as part of the Pact for the future. It probably is merely a starting point. Making the examples more widely known seems likely useful to support implementation of the UN Declaration on Future Generations, to reduce polarisation and to increase the number of Saturdays (= make the existence of future generations more likely), for as far as that is wihtin human control.
Longlist of ideas what else art can do for the future
- show similar exhibits elsewhere, adapt them to circumstances, improve them to make them more compelling
- document these projects in different media and present them on various venues
- encourage reflection of these ideas in media
- inspiring others to create additional long-term projects
- encourage the UN to again ask artists to reflect on our relationship with future generations, e.g., when revisiting the implementation of the UN Declaration on Future Generations in 2028
- regularly select and showcase the most compelling Good Ancestor projects
Collection of ideas how a similar exhibit can be improved
- adapt to situation, encourage people to linger and think, engage visitors, have people who can explain and relate personal experiences from some of the projects
- posters at UN worked well, seemed a good height (center ~1,5m, wall height 3,0 to 3,3m). Slightly thicker backing could result in fewer of them bending. A bit smaller might have worked just as well with slightly more space between posters (they were designed to cover a longer piece of wall but then - correctly - hung only in frequently visited part of the wall, resulting in less space than planned)
- No “Work” after Pamürimasa
- Danny Hillis mentioned as artist on 10,000 year clock
- typo in photo-credits (Katie Paterson studios)
- Resolution was good or ok, but could always be better so posters can be viewed even closer
- Take more time (and money?) for preparation, asking for more contributios from a wider range
Longlist of ideas for other projects that similarly inspire or would fit with a future exhibit
- other long-term art projects
- other examples from this list
- The Peace Child Musical encouraging young performers to put themselves in the shoes of someone 50 years in the future
- Examples fo indigenous knowledge, for example Gunditjmara histories and dreamings such as Budj Bim's creations can help to think long term. Connecting Budj Bim's creations to a volcanic eruption about 37,000 years ago can be very impressive. This might, however, not be an adequate representation of how those whose tradition this is part of think of it, so could be difficult for outsiders to properly talk about :-(
- ask for submission of other examples, select and showcase the ones deemed most compelling by a wide audience