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Installation view of <i>Another Generosity</i>

Installation view of Another Generosity

Exhibition

Designs for Different Futures

October 22, 2019–March 8, 2020

Journey through an electrifying landscape of designs that respond to the future in surprising, ingenious, and occasionally unsettling ways. From daring flights of imagination to products already on the market, the works on view explore what lies ahead for the earth and its inhabitants—through the interplay of design, art, science, and technology.

Want to talk about what you saw or just read and relax? Drop by the Futures Therapy Lab at the end of the exhibition.

Futures Therapy Lab

A space for conversation, critique, and creativity for those considering the ideas set forth in the exhibition. In addition to daily drop-in activities, the Lab will host weekly events. Open to visitors of all ages and free with museum admission.

Drop-in Daily Activities

Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Wednesday & Friday, 10:00 a.m.–8:45 p.m. Thinking about possible futures is both exhilarating and anxiety-making. Work it out through art making, reading, and reflection.

Artists in the Lab

Wednesdays, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Artists and designers share their work through talks, demonstrations, and workshops.

The Designer Is In

Selected Thursdays & Saturdays, 2:00–4:00 p.m. One-on-one sessions with designers offer new perspectives on your everyday life.

Sci-Fi Sundays

Sundays (except first Sunday of the month), 2:00–3:00 p.m. Drop-in readings that explore narratives of the future.

Dorrance Galleries

Main Building

Museum map

Preview the Exhibition

Get a sneak peek at works in the exhibition.

Organizers

Designs for Different Futures is organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Sponsors

In Philadelphia, this exhibition is generously supported by the Annenberg Foundation Fund for Major Exhibitions, the Robert Montgomery Scott Endowment for Exhibitions, the Kathleen C. and John J. F. Sherrerd Fund for Exhibitions, Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer in honor of Collab’s 50th Anniversary, the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Laura and William C. Buck Endowment for Exhibitions, the Harriet and Ronald Lassin Fund for Special Exhibitions, the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Exhibition Fund, and an anonymous donor.

Curators

Kathryn B. Hiesinger, The J. Mahlon Buck, Jr. Family Senior Curator of European Decorative Arts after 1700, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Michelle Millar Fisher, The Louis C. Madeira Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Emmet Byrne, design director and associate curator of design, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Maite Borjabad López-Pastor, Neville Bryan Assistant Curator of Architecture and Design, the Art Institute of Chicago; and Zoë Ryan, John H. Bryan Chair and Curator of Architecture and Design, the Art Institute of Chicago; with guest curators Andrew Blauvelt, director, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and curator-at-large, Museum of Arts and Design, New York; Colin Fanning, independent scholar, Bard Graduate Center, New York; and Orkan Telhan, associate professor of fine arts, emerging design practices, University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Philadelphia

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