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Re-Writing the Script

Future Thinking methodology

2022

Re-Writing the Script – A New Relationship to Finitude is a critical cultural analysis of our needs and fears in a world shaped by both abundance and crisis. It introduces a new artistic methodology for reassessing societal norms and power structures in the Global North, emphasizing the value of endings and the practice of letting go as a way to move forward in the future.
 
This Future Thinking project—encompassing a book, toolkit, and conference—examines our era of unlimited possibilities alongside an underlying fear of crisis that threatens collapse of our current way of life. Caught in a paradox between eternity and finitude, it asks: How can we reclaim a positive meaning for endings in our society? In doing so, it seeks to empower us to shape the future, unleash creativity, and take control of our own resilience in times of challenge.
The project’s foundation is a book comprising about hundred pages of research, drawing from cultural theory, sociology, philosophy, economics, literature, and art. From this research, a Future Thinking methodology was developed, applying backcasting. The process begins by examining present-day societal challenges from a future endpoint, where the challenge has already been resolved. It then shifts focus back to the present, identifying the actions needed to bridge the gap between the current situation and the proposed future. This approach encourages the creation of active counter-models, offering alternatives to the pessimistic forecasts of media and political instability—embodied in heterotopias. Unlike utopias, future heterotopias are optimistic yet realistic, acknowledging potential challenges while remaining empowering rather than dystopian.
Based on the book's research, a toolkit was developed, featuring a manual for the Future Thinking methodology and tools—represented as puzzle pieces—to help visualize and connect heterotopias in group workshops. The toolkit was first tested at the “Re-Writing the Script of the Future” conference at Foundation B.a.d in Rotterdam. The two-day event served as both field research and a presentation of the project's components. Day one focused on discussing the book's themes and creating a joint manifesto on the cultural model's need for a new approach to endings. On day two, the toolkit was tested with eight participants from various artistic disciplines.

“Re-Writing the Script – A New Relationship to Finitude” is my Bachelor graduation project from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. It received an honorable mention for the Drempelprijs for Commercial Practice and was nominated for the university’s research award. The project was later developed into an online format in collaboration with the Ars Electronica Futurelab and applied to various projects, including Re-Writing the Script of AI SPEC with Mitsubishi Electric, Hakuhodo Inc., and the Ars Electronica Futurelab, as well as an academic workshop for the Master of Interface Cultures at the University of Art in Linz.
Credits:
A Project by Denise Hirtenfelder
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Bookcover: Vincent Book
Poster-Design: Anna Lorenz
Filming: Liselot Hoekstra, Robin Tijdemans
Editing: Liselot Hoekstra, Leon de Haas
Animation: Vincent Book
Music: Youssef El Fassi, Roel Driessen
Location: Foundation B.a.d, Rotterdam
Photos: Karin Arink, Denise Hirtenfelder, Liselot Hoekstra, Anna Lorenz
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Special Thanks:
Karin Arink, Kinga Barcs, Paul Cox, Irma Foldenyi, Lizan Freijsen, 
Michelle Kasprzak, Nicolas Naveau, Neele Schlette, Renee Spanjer
Participants of the "Re-Writing the Script of the Future"-Conference
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