Futures Present – Symposium on Artistic Research 2026

Futures Present examines how artistic research speculates, envisions, and imagines our current and future societies. Foregrounding interdisciplinarity and engaging with cultural heritages and futures, it seeks to articulate frameworks for shaping desirable societal trajectories amidst conditions of complex and accelerated change.

A collaboration between the Swedish Research Council and Konstfack, Futures Present is organized in partnership with Formas and the Institute for Future Studies. It presents a curated program of projects funded and/or hosted by all four organizations, aiming to create a forum for interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue, as well as opportunities for joint initiatives and future collaborations.

The symposium will feature keynote speakers as well as parallel sessions with thematic clusters. Through its structure, the symposium aims to facilitate critical dialogue on the ways in which knowledge production and creative practices can engage with the pressing challenges of our time, while promoting in-depth understanding of how artistic research contributes to the formation of democratically resilient societies and futures.