This weekend, creatives from the art, science, literary, design, politics, and storytelling worlds will come together for ASU's Emerge to talk about the future.
Yes, "the future" is seriously broad topic, but it's one that the event's lineup is more than ready to discuss.
Emerge aims to provide a space for discussion on the future of our cities, technolgies, societies, and lives -- and the roles we each play our collective future. Emerge is open to the public tomorrow (the first two days were invitation-only), and will include conference keynote sessions with Stewart Brand (The Whole Earth Discipline), Bruce Sterling (The Difference Engine, Beyond the Beyond), Sherry Turkle (Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other), Bruce Mau (Incomplete Manifesto for Growth, Massive Change Network), Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Reamde) and ASU President Michael Crow.
Professor Thanassis Rikakis, behind the conception of the event, says it will be an opportunity for professionals in the creative fields to "leave their ivory towers" and come together to talk, listen, and collaborate in workshop, presentation, and exhibition settings to create dialogue from which a sense of the future emerges.
Tomorrow's schedule kicks off at ASU Tempe's Neeb Hall with a keynote address from Crow at 9:30 a.m., followed by a "Envisioning the Future" panel moderated by Seattle-based novelist Stephenson, a presentation by Brand, who created and edited the Whole Earth Catalog and co-founded the Hackers Conference, and a "Designing the Future" panel moderated by ASU faculty member Merlyna Lim.
After a lunch break, the public is encouraged to reconvene for a keynote by Turkle, an author and psychologist, an "Embodying the Future" panel moderated by Colin Milburn, and presentations by Massive Change Network's Bruce Mau and science fiction novelist Bruce Sterling.
From 5 to 8 p.m., Emerge will kick off it's own Digital Culture Festival, including performances from the Digital Culture Music Ensemble and the ASU Laptop Orchestra, a discussion of inspiration and creativity, a gaming presentation, and an interactive display closing show.
For more information about tomorrow's events, the full timetable, and in-depth descriptions of workshops and speakers, check out the Emerge website.
