Brief Overview

Future Archaeologies operates through three distinct endeavours, forming a symbiotic foundation for the organisation's growth and sustainability:

Producer and Enabler of Creative Ideas Future Archaeologies serves as a hub for generating and gathering the innovative concepts and ideas of the many and not the few.

Archive and Transmission Centre It acts as a repository and communication centre for the present and future, preserving and sharing creative insights in order to engage and communicate with the youths of the future.

Production and Learning Centre for Temporal Art Projects By creating artistic productions with no end, the organisation will foster a new kind of ongoing artistic exploration and education using time as both a medium and facilitator

These endeavours enable the organisation's participants, its Poets, to engage in the creative field in new meaningful ways, whilst producing valuable historical archives for the future. Archives made by the plethora that are as rich and nuanced as them.

Poets

The Future Archaeologies will be staffed by Poets, who will activate, embody, and engage the organisation during their tenure. To become a Future Archaeologies Poet is dependent on conveying an idea of passion and creativity that the applicant feels should be conceptualised and transmitted to the future. An idea that they are not afforded the chance to produce under normal circumstances.

A person will apply in the form of writing, or any other format decided by the applicant, which is then submitted to a specific Bureau (see below). All applications will go through a selection process to identify the most pivotal voices, the best ideas, and the most interesting notions to save. Selection into the programme is made by the Poets residing at the Bureau applied to. In short, each new generation of Poets is chosen by their contemporary predecessors and not by an outside body.

The selected Poets will give life to their ideas by materialising their concepts during their tenure. All Poets will also engage the Future Archaeologies Archives during their stay and add to it through their concepts and by creating Transmissions for the future. The final concepts will be added to the archive in whichever material form its producer sees fit, be it as a book, as a film, as a recording, as any format that can fit into the Archive’s Storage Units.

Future Archaeologies was originally intended to primarily offer an opportunity for those in the creative field that do not make material productions or have limited access to do so; such as curators, choreographers, filmmakers, composers, performers, writers, scriptwriters or idea makers. However, recognising that Poets exist everywhere, we humbly encourage applications from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and all ages. Poetry and the ground it grows from is and should never be limited to any specific category or definition.

Bureaus

Future Archaeologies will operate from self-contained Bureaus designed to be cost-effective and symbiotic with its local host environment. The aim is to create a global network of Bureaus to record as many perspectives as possible. Each individual bureau will be a base of operation for the Future Archaeologies Poets and maintain Archives (see below) of at least their own productions, with a view to include as many facsimiles of other ones as locally possible.

 The Bureaus can potentially be placed anywhere with space and public access; however, Future Archaeologies will generally seek partnerships with local educational and cultural institutions based on giving access to or collaborating on Temporal Projects in return for physical spaces to establish bureaus. These could be partnerships with Universities, Art Academies, Dance and Performance Schools, as well as Museums, Theatres, Studios, and other sites of culture.

By the same token, the organisation is secular and apolitical, in part because its aims also are, but also to avoid any potential for conflict or even terminal closure due to affiliations. The future cannot be foreseen, and therefore a neutral and benevolent path is envisioned from the onset.

Each Bureau will be overseen by a Bureaucrat, who will manage all its local activities. A Bureaucrat is hired for a tenure of 4 years, with the possibility of one additional tenure.

Archives

A primary objective for Future Archaeologies is for its Archives to resonate through history, and for them to be helped in doing so through an insistence on conservation, independence, and open access.

All concepts and recordings made at each Bureau will be stored locally at the on-site Archive. If and where possible, each local Archive will be expanded to contain as many facsimiles as possible of the combined Future Archaeologies Archives. No matter the format or scope, each Poet will convert their idea into a tangible concept, which must be physically materialized. While many will manifest as writing and imagery, some may take the form of instructive recordings for performance concepts involving the body. Others may assume entirely unique forms, tailored to the creator's vision and requirements.

This primary material form will always take precedent over a secondary digital form, this is to ensure the longevity of the concepts regardless of whether society progresses or regresses in the future. Material concepts will be made in editions of 3 and will be stored in durable and sealable containers at the dimensions of 100x50x50cm. Where possible and relevant, digital copies will also be made available to the public. Every quarter, copies of all new productions and Transmissions will be transported to the two Master Archives maintained by Future Archaeologies.

The Master Archives will be established at safe locations and will also contain the necessary equipment to access the archival material, ensuring that the voices of any format will not die out due to the progress or regress of any of the future. Future Archaeologies will continuously engage conservation experts to identify the most durable materials and conservation techniques available, to save our voices, to save our histories. 

The Poets of each Bureau will build, engage, and tend to the ever-growing archive of materialised concepts and Transmissions (see below) held locally and every concept made will be added to the Future Archaeologies' Archive. All concepts within the Bureau Archives will be accessible to not only institutions, academics, and historians but to the global public as a whole and in this way, all Poets will also function as living points of access. All concepts will also be available for full production, should an institution or other platform wish to do so. The Poet responsible for the concept will get first right to oversee the production, insofar willing and living.

In general, Future Archaeologies will not seek to produce these concepts themselves but will urge others to fully realise that which has been dreamt and put forward, in the hope that several, if not many of the concepts and ideas will come into a new life at a later stage. Only the future can reveal the relevance and possibility of each. By utilising a format centred on potential production, the ideas enter a state in between being and not-being, thereby preserving their potential despite of the circumstances they were born in.

All parts of the organisation have been designed with a view to make it like a vessel able to sail through time in perpetuity in benefit of its present and future. To achieve this independence, the organisation will, as a source of revenue, seek to retain a share of profit from sales of concepts or artworks produced through its projects, whilst also seeking to commercialise its other productions. The organisation will also seek further funding through outside support and charitable bodies. Future Archaeologies is intended as a benign addition to the cultural landscape and will therefore never seek to be a museum or institution per se; rather, it wants to work in support of them and the wider public.

Transmissions

During their tenure, all Poets will record and oversee the continuous transmissions that Future Archaeologies will make to the future, and ultimately also disseminate and activate these once the future becomes the now.

Transmissions for the future will be recorded in four forms:

Primary Form Each Poet will nominate at least one living person to record during their stay with Future Archaeologies. The subjects of these recordings should be chosen from a perspective of informing the concept produced by the nominating Poet and afterwards be invited by means of a motivated letter. The subjects can choose to be filmed at a location of their choice, and their invitation to participate is valid for one year. In the recording, the subject will both address and pose questions to the youths 100 years from the day of production. These films will be shot in a single take with a 16mm camera and have a maximum duration of 24 minutes. These recordings will be released at a time of the individual subject’s choosing, though at the latest 100 years later. To safeguard the subjects’ privacy, none of these recordings will be stored in a digital format before release. Where possible, the nominator of the subject will either be present during the recording or given one-time access to the recording.

Second Form This form of transmission will consist of weekly missives from each bureau, where Poets will make audio recordings interviewing each other about their projects with an intended audience 50 years from production. These recordings will be disseminated in the present, currently in the format of podcasts, but will also be archived in material audio and transcribed formats. All participants will have to amend their language and form of addressing in both sets of transmissions to cater for a future audience not naturally immersed in our present.

Third Form This consists of recordings of each Bureau’s weekly staff meeting to give the future insight into the processes and dialogues that underpinned all our past endeavours.

Fourth Form Annual documentation of the Temporal Projects (see below) generated at each Bureau. This will not only serve as pivotal insights into how production was made throughout time, but also enable a continuous conversation across time between all participants of a Temporal Project.

Temporal Projects

Future Archaeologies will also create and oversee Temporal Art Projects. These can take the form of gardens and sites grown and sculpted for hundreds of years, or they can exist as art exhibitions or performances that are repeated every year for hundreds of years. Each Bureau will initiate and commit themselves to at least one Temporal Art Project and will not be able to exist without one. Each project must have a detailed methodology for repetition, execution, and succession, as well as long-term contingency plans.

Imagine an art show where every year four artists are invited to paint the same landscape - one artist paints from the north, one from the south, one from the east, one from the west. The next year it's repeated, and the year again, and the year again.

Imagine a stage or performance production repeated every year at the same location, and where the primary participants only relinquish their roles to their nominated successors either through choice or death.

By initiating artistic projects lasting for decades, and hopefully much longer, artists will be given the opportunity to engage in new forms of artistic productions, whilst guaranteeing practical experience for Future Archaeologies’ Talents (see below). Being the primary enablers of the Temporal Art Projects not only guards their independence from outside bodies, such as museums, theatres, public spaces, or residencies, but also makes them assets that can be traded with institutions. Because each project can easily be converted into low-cost exhibitions, performances, or events, these can be used to generate awareness and interest in Future Archaeologies as a whole, and function as leverage for mutually beneficial collaborations.

Talents

Poets under the age of 30 will enter the Talent programme, where they will also gain relevant practical experience by activating and managing Future Archaeologies’ Temporal Projects. Talents will be given the opportunity to directly engage and gain real-life experience through new forms of art engagements. The Talent programme goes beyond the notion of our presently stale internships and replaces these with purposeful and producing roles that benefit both present and future generations. The constant engagement of youth will also ensure that Future Archaeologies remains relevant and able to capture the perspectives of generations through all time.

The Talents’ primary objective is to make their unique perspectives available to the future. This is achieved by producing material with a clear cultural focus, such as but not limited to exhibition, performance, stage, performance, music, or film concepts. The Talents are expected to help preserve the unique perspectives of their times and transmit these to an unknown future in various formats and engagements. Words have the power to resonate all through history and Future Archaeologies hopes to amplify this effect by having the youth of the present convey their experience to the youth of tomorrow.  

One element underpinning all these endeavours is the notion of dialogue, not just with the future, but also between us. Future Archaeologies is a safe space for dialogues and for testing ideas. A safe space for what we were, who we are, and what we can be. These projects will offer unique insights into the ever-changing landscape both of our world and of ourselves. They will reclaim time from the now and bring the past into life in the now and the future. To do so, those who inspired their concepts will be nominated by Future Archaeologies Talents to co-produce short films where the nominees put questions to the youth one hundred years from now. The films will be available to view in the organisation’s bureaus, with master copies stored at safe locations, before being broadly disseminated at their intended time.

Instead of only leaving perspectives and ideas from the Talents themselves, these transmissions will seek to start conversations by posing direct questions to those still unborn. Questions and dialogues not directly informed or connected with a particular concept or idea, but rather an introduction to a mind that served as inspiration. This process will expand the multitude of voices recorded and sent forward. It will also create a dialogue in the present between both. Speaking to the future will also produce an echo effect in the youths of the present, making each more aware of their position in the grand scheme of endless time and underlining their position as temporary custodians of this earth. Together with the Catalysts (see below) the Talents will also produce the continuous production and hosting of each local Bureau’s missives podcasts as well as participate in the weekly staff meeting between all Bureau participants. To spark further conversation as well as practical experience within the creative field Talents will also oversee, enable, and document the production of any Temporal Project made at their local Bureau.

Catalysts

Applicants over the age of 30 will enter the Catalyst programme, which is intended for the people whose careers, lives or circumstances do not make it possible for them to pursue their passion ideas. Admission into the catalyst programme will be made in the same manner as the one for Talents. Former Talents can become Catalysts also.

Often, the path for creative producers is limited, and many positions also narrow in scope, meaning that again many ideas will not manifest themselves in the real world. This does not only apply the youth, but to everyone. It is easy to be caught in a cycle of work and obligations where no opportunity is given to produce ideas of passion. It is often also exceedingly difficult to create the necessary space and economy between work and family lives to break out of a career temporarily to explore these ideas. To address this, Catalysts will be offered a salary for the duration of their stay, which can last between 2 to 6 months depending on the concept that they want to materialise. As with the talents, the Catalysts will develop a concept, manuscript, project, or performance for which they have not had the opportunity before their tenure. They will also nominate one person to record a Transmission. Catalysts will also participate in the production of missives and the weekly recorded Bureau meetings. Unlike the Talents, Catalysts do not have to participate in the Temporal Projects, though they can ask their local Bureaucrat to be included.

Preferably the chosen Catalysts already have experience and knowledge from within their fields, experience that they can share with their Talent colleagues, who in turn can challenge the Catalysts' conceptions. The interaction between Talents and Catalysts is essential. This will also create further cross-platform dialogues and opportunities for all participants while adding to the organisation’s archives and potential. Overall, the organisation’s engagements seek to establish direct dialogues between the organisation’s Talents, artists, and cultural professionals, thereby hopefully inspiring further collaboration, and opportunity for everyone.