Nearly 100 students, alumni, and friends of the University of Houston Foresight program met in Houston for the 2023 Spring Gathering to investigate Images of the Future by diving into presentations that explored their meaning, their construction, and the way they are communicated by foresight professionals.
The weekend officially kicked off with a meet-and-greet Friday evening at Goode Company Taqueria. Travelers from as far away as Hawaii and the Philippines and from as near as Austin and Houston met together to catch up with old colleagues and for some, to meet in person for the first time.
Saturday’s events began with a warm welcome from UH Foresight Program Director, Dr. Andy Hines. Keynote presenters Dr. Wendy Schultz and Dr. Christopher Jones then took attendees on a journey through ambient images of the future that compete with the images that professional futurists develop in our work. They issued a challenge to create images that challenge assumptions, authoritative paradigms, and sacred values and to seek out new trickster archetypes to challenge our ignorance and bias in the face of deep uncertainty.
After a mid-morning break, alum JT Mudge led a 3D journey through images of science fiction and the ethical issues that they raise. Raymond Rodriguez, teacher of visual arts at Vanguard High School in Houston gave attendees a glimpse of the future through the eyes of his high school students. John Sweeney got everyone out of their seats to play the Polak Game with a twist, looking at the 2×2 matrix through an acronym APERTURE.
After lunch, Dr. Hines presented his research on After Capitalism, giving attendees a peek into three potentially overlapping images of the future: Circular Commons, Non-workers Paradise, and Tech-led Abundance. New UH Foresight Adjunct Professor Mina McBride provided a structure for incorporating and analyzing AI image generation in workshops and research. UH Foresight’s three APF Student Recognition entrants shared their outstanding presentations: Kiran Carpenter talked about US National Health Security, Eben Kowler presented on Local Foods, and Jeremy Wilken shared some incredible images depicting the Future of Automated Vehicles.
UH Foresight professor Adam Cowart began the last session with a preview of the Summer Elective, Restorying Futures. Rounding out an incredible day, Maria Crabtree and Anna Russo from KnowledgeWorks provided an immersive demo of the Impact: Learning Edition Game.
Following the day’s events, conversations continued at Andy’s home, where the UH Foresight community had the opportunity to celebrate the 2023 program graduates with a lively informal ceremony. And rumor has it that there was a tarot card reading done on the future of the Foresight program.
The UH Foresight community is one-of-a-kind, and the annual Spring Gathering presents an incredible opportunity for the community to gather together, learn from each other, and have an inordinate amount of fun. Huge thanks to the inimitable Juli Rush, UH Foresight student and 2023 graduate, for the 2023 Spring Gathering video, which perfectly captures the spirit of the event.
Finally, the Houston Foresight Team is thrilled to announce that the 2024 Spring Gathering will take place April 19-21. Save the date!
