Intersections Commission #2: ‘...And Beyond Institute for Future Research’ | January–September 2015

For the second Intersections commission, Primary invited the ‘...And Beyond Institute for Future Research’ to temporarily base its operations in the city of Nottingham. The ‘...And Beyond Institute for Future Research’ is a peripatetic, performative think tank led by artist Sonya Dyer, which positions women as progenitors of a future Space Programme. The ‘...And Beyond Institute for Future Research’ uses the model of the think tank as artistic proposition, engaged with the practice of research as a public act and creating visions of possible futures.

Who makes The Future?
Have our imaginations been stolen by the forces of neo-liberalism?
Is imagining The Future a political act?

At Primary, the project aimed to develop a team of women who are interested in working towards the creation of this Space Programme, through the radical act of claiming the right to imagine the future, and working together to envisage it. The ABIFR recruited women to work collectively to imagine the most exciting, radical vision of The Future they can. It reached out to women from all walks of life - from elders to teenagers, call centre workers to scientists, shop assistants to academics, comic book fans to futurologists - to bring their knowledge, passion and experience to the task. Drawing on the illustrious – yet undervalued – history of women’s contribution to the construction of our shared human future, in fact and fiction (including such luminaries as Sally Ride, Lt Nyota Uhura, Dr Mae Jemison, Dr Ryan Stone, and Sunita Williams) the ABIFR’s mission is to place women’s labour at the forefront of the Space Race. By considering space travel as the ultimate expression of the potential of the human collective imagination, this project aims to inspire women to think about ideas, issues and dreams that relate to their lives on a monumental scale. How could our ideas challenge what is deemed important when building community? How might we live differently? What would it truly mean to start again? What kind of future could we will into being? The ABIFR imagines The Future as a destination. How might we get there?

In March 2015, Sonya Dyer gave a press conference, presenting research from the ‘...And Beyond Institute for Future Research’ and featuring it's first infomercial. Listen to an interview with Sonya that was broadcast on Kemet FM here:

The project culminated in “Into the Future” - two days of workshops and seminars at Broadway Cinema. This event was produced by Primary, with kind support from Near Now, Broadway and Horizon Research Institute. Watch documentation of the event here:

With thanks to the women of ABIFR Nottingham: Angela Martinez Dy, Lori Amor, Mariel Rodart, Pepita Stringer, Sarah Martindale (pictured above) and Tatiana Styliari.

Intersections was a strand of commissions running from 2014-2016 that expanded Primary’s activity beyond the boundaries of the building, engaging with people and places in the local area. Each project extended an invitation to individuals and communities to share and explore specific sets of knowledge, in connection to artists’ research and production processes. The Intersections programme was kindly supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.