ARE we headed towards a bright tomorrow or hurtling towards eternal perdition? The festivals and exhibitions so far announced for 2018 cannot make up their minds.
Will the future be kind? This is the question looming over , a festival at the London School of Economics that will consider what is in store for William Beveridge鈥檚 75-year-old vision of the welfare state (19 to 24 February). There is fascinating scientific insight to be had from talks examining the evolution and likely future of work, ageing and altruism.
Those of a more visionary bent should head to Trondheim in Norway between 8 March and 6 May. Here the art and technology festival will consider the 鈥渂eautiful accident鈥� that is the human species, 鈥渟eated in economy class, sipping on Pi帽a Coladas, listening to the Beach Boys while blissfully sailing into the ultimate sunset鈥�.
Advertisement
Opening on 21 April is the exhibition at London鈥檚 Victoria and Albert Museum. This promises 300 beautiful, intriguing and unsettling objects that highlight fashion鈥檚 dependence on the natural world.
Happily, there is more to the future than resource depletion, and three weeks later, on 12 May, the V&A launches , which will explore the power of design in shaping the world of tomorrow.
Finally, two future-facing stalwarts return to London in 2018. , a two-day celebration of impending possibilities, returns to Tobacco Dock on 6 and 7 July, while the (4 to 23 September) explores how design affects every aspect of our emotional lives.
Will the future be kind? This may be the year we find out.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淚t鈥檚 shaping up for an eventful year鈥�
