A Brief Course Abstract: This was a four credit mandatory unit for the students in the 5th semester of the four year (8 semesters) B.Des. course Information Arts and Information Design Practices. This studio/unit was spread over five weeks, and students were engaged with the class four days a week.
We are living in the most complex times of human history. The world is going through unprecedented conflicts for land, resources and identity. Heatwaves and excessive rains in India are causing financial loss and threatening our food security. Wildfires in Canada and heatwaves in Southern Europe are examples of the precarious world we are living in. Yet none of these have made us viscerally understand climate change. Though many people are learning to read and write, inequality is greater than ever. Patriarchy and misogyny have not abated. As we look forward to uncertain futures, how can artists and designers prepare for it? Do we assume that it will be business as usual? What are our responsibilities? We will examine these questions in detail and delve into possible futures. The aim is not to make another poster, website or app. We will research our multiple realities by studying the online universe, fieldwork and interactions with change makers. We will try to understand how we can become new world makers.
We had two interactive sessions outside the classroom in the first week of the course. One was at Baduku – Centre for Livelihoods Learning – Samvada (samvadabaduku.org) which trains grassroots change makers and at Environment Support Group. They were encouraged to work on their chosen context and research and observe the ‘real world’ scenarios, and express or put forward their imaginations for a better world in a form of their choice. Here are the outcomes of three students – Aditi Puttige, Sumedha Ghosh and Shreya Ann Mathew.