19/08/2026
What if political decisions were made exclusively by countries traditionally underrepresented in global decision-making? And, what if water became a currency? Or if AI were put in charge of deciding what counts as cultural heritage?
We may not be able to predict the future, but we can design it by exploring different possible scenarios. We are pleased to invite 12 participants from across the region to a three-day workshop introducing Speculative Design, a practice that uses fictional scenarios to question current developments and imagine alternative futures.
Under the guidance of Austrian design researcher Anna Nagele, participants will combine theoretical inputs with practical group exercises to challenge assumptions, explore alternative scenarios and reflect on a crucial question: Which future(s) do we actually want?
P R O G R A M M E
Day 1: Introduction to Speculative Design | Images of the future | Pluriversal design | Research and discussion: signals and trends
Day 2: Applying speculative design tools: futures wheel, worldbuilding, future scenarios and diegetic prototypes
Day 3: Presentations | Backcasting | Prefiguration | Group discussion on the implications of speculative designs
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Day 1: Tue, 1 Sep
Day 2: Wed, 2 Sep
Day 3: Thu, 3 Aug
🕐 6 – 9 PM (all three days)
📍 Online via Zoom
W H O: artists, researchers, cultural practitioners
H O W: Please register by Thur, 27 August via the following form: https://forms.gle/rA4sPRqDZJ4vCwdU9
L A N G U A G E: English
C O S T: Free of charge
A B O U T: Anna Nagele is a researcher and lecturer interested in the role of design and technology in shaping socio-ecological conditions. She is senior scientist in the department for Design History and Theory at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and holds a Ph.D in Media and Arts Technology. She is founder and editor of The Posthumanist magazine.
