We want the Resilients publication to reflect the full diversity of experimental approaches to the question: what possible futures can we envision and how do we prototype them today?
This question implies a strong dose of “visionary adaptation” - of exploring new cultural imaginaries and their influence on our current way of life. The publication should provide an insight about which elements of our contemporary cultures could be resilient and which fragile or unsustainable in the face of turbulent and uncertain futures.
The publication is inspired by the Commonplace books of old - collections of knowledge and inspirations in bite-sized chunks and a variety of formats. The entries in commonplace books were used as starting point or “compost” for creative works, such as novels or natural philosophy papers. Open, inclusive and exploratory in form and content, we nevertheless aim to create a multifaceted jewel where each side is polished to radiate the beauty of an enduring printed product.
We would like to include everything from DIY recipes for cultural resilience, design fiction, fieldwork in eco-villages or contemporary guilds, manifestos for free information flows and transversal networks. We encourage contributions that situate technological innovation at the centre of our cultural context, embracing both the traditions of the past and the innovations of the present in all their intricate complexities.
We are particularly interested in perspectives that embrace a nuanced rather than absolutist vision of the future - one that sees contemporary societal challenges as compost for revitalisation of culture. We want to explore resilient and innovative cultural practices capable of adapting to complex amalgams of technological and social disruption and transformation on a variety of scales - from the individual to the planetary.
Hence Resilients do not subscribe to a survivalist minimalism or a “bucolic mirage” - the view that it will all be fine if we retreat back to a paradise-like wilderness. Neither do we believe in (post)apocalyptic “we shall never surrender” or us-vs-them tactics. It is about knowing what we are able to change and changing it, while accepting what we cannot change and incorporating that into landscapes of new cultural imaginaries.
The contributions should be relevent to the project's stated aims, themes and context → http://resilients.net/about/
We encourage vivid, engaging and playful contributions in a variety of styles and formats. Submissions should be concise, accessible, and reflect the themes of the Resilients project, inspiring active and concrete engagement with the topic.
The following types of contributions are welcomed. For clarification about these guidelines or if you have an idea for something that is not covered below, contact us. Contributions selected for publication will be edited for style, consistency, and clarity.