The sustainable use of coasts, seas and oceans is a social challenge that affects us all. The Ocean Future Lab offers space for the co-creative and inspiring design of future scenarios for oceans. Citizens are invited to develop ideas for the future and possible action in exchange with artists and scientists.

The OFL is a project of the “Science Year 2022 – Participate!” and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in collaboration with the German Alliance for Marine Research, the German Maritime Museum in Stralsund, the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, the Futurium in Berlin, and the Filmuniversity Babelsberg.

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The Art For Futures Lab brings different stakeholders together to interdisciplinary working on the challenges of the 21st century. During the co-creation workshops, visions and strategies for probable and desirable futures are developed. In collaboration with Filmuniversity Babelsberg, the AFFL spreads knowledge about social and technological innovations as well as sustainable practices and lifestyles. This open innovation and participation project aspires to convert dialogues into a collective imagination and provides actionability to its participants.

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The Universal Sea movement pushes forward solutions to ensure resilient futures of our oceans. With an innovative, efficient and results-orientated approach we explore new collaboration models between art, science, technology, and business together with the public. 

It was initiated as a project (EU co-funded 2017 – 2019) and has been a massive undertaking by establishing a strong network of more than 1100 artists and business innovators, 75 institutions, 20 universities, and 11 festivals. With our co-creation workshops, interventions and exhibitions we have attracted an audience of 6.5 million participants and 1.7 million online visitors coming from 70 countries.

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Social Art is any artistic expression that aims at creating a social impact and making a difference. This definition delineates the intention of the artist as crucial; Art engages in questioning and rethinking existing systems and paradigms. Visionaries, utopists, agents for change from more than 147 countries with the ability to affect society by creating emotionally captivating experiences have been joining our network since 2017.

The award intends to invigorate the rise of Social Art strengthening the recognition of social artists, valuing their work and eventually highlighting the importance of Social Art for our societies.

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We expand in-depth on art-science-innovation collaborations pushing forward positive narratives and innovative solutions for the plastic epidemic by shifting from problem awareness to sustainability action. In collaboration with mentors, multipliers, educators, and experts from different fields we  address young people to develop solution ideas for a zero-waste future. It is about giving them the means to act and supporting long-term actors for change.

Art serves as an inspiring trigger, cooperation with research institutes for knowledge transfer, and successful best practices of start-ups as a role model. The best approaches are supported in the implementation.

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School x Science x Art meet at the artistic-experimental Material Lab to research on plastic alternatives, material innovations and technologies. By including it into the school curriculum we enable the young generation to get access to latest research on the burning issue of the plastic epidemic and to apply this directly into their own creations, experiencing self-efficacy. Starting point: Plastic waste diary of family consumption over 4 weeks, papers on recycling, micro-plastics in drinking water, (hormonal) effect of plastic on humans, garbage patches in the oceans, etc. Scientists provide insights, present materials and challenges, offer hands-on experiences. Students learn and experiment to develop their own materials and/ or products, artistic objects. Results are presented through a public exhibition.

Exploring artistic visions and utopias at the interface of art, science and innovation together with the public is the aim of the festival and lab “Hybrid Futures Berlin – Building meaningful tomorrows”. Which forces can be generated through art-based hybrids? Berlin, with its diversity of cultures, lifestyles and processes of change, being a hub for innovation and startups, is the ideal breeding ground for creating visionary hybrids of artists with science, technology, education, housing, transport, environment, politics, startups, etc. The mix of possibilities, viewpoints and forms of expression hits on a broad variety of artistic artifacts, performances, interventions, models and simulations. Ten hybrid teams will form the Hybrid Future lab deepening the participative exploration of possible futures for the Berlin of tomorrow.

On the meanings, values and futures of water. Water is the source of life, without water no survival. Water is energy, water is memory. On the first sight water is an unexciting liquid, flavorless and with crystalline structure, yet with the power to not only transform into different physical states, but to cause geopolitical threats leading to war and destruction. Water is vulnerable, minor contamination and its overuse lead to tremendously decreasing supplies of drinking water, while the rise of ocean levels causes threats of floods. For water as the most unspectacular, yet most needed and powerful linked essence – acting on innovative solutions ensures its availability and purity for the futures is realized int this experimental,transdisciplinary exploration at the intersections of science, business, and art.

By turning today’s burning issues of democracy into inspirational visions, strong values and secret superpowers – from within and from outside – the interactive social art intervention explores the power of art to catalyze change enabling a deep layered critical reflection and actionability for the future of democracy. Our methodology is based on speculative design and prototyping practices, empowering people to dream big. It aims at making disruptive and visionary futures tangible and reachable to enhance today’s reflection and actionability, ensuring a beneficial future for all. Today, people are overwhelmed by negative visions, fears and fake news. For more positive guidance in uncertainty, we need to be able to envision how a bright democratic future can look and feel like.

Knowledge-based future technologies in environmental and climate protection and sustainability are extremely under-represented in comparison to their use in the economy. On the one hand, opportunities are often not seen because of the lack of expert knowledge, on the other hand, talent search can not compete with the budgets of the private sector. In order to reduce this gap and to not leave these technologies to financially strong elites, new approaches for more access and participation are urgently needed. AI for Future provides inspirational insight into the environmental and social innovation potentials of artificial intelligence, enables low-threshold access, and drives forward progressive approaches and art-based experiments towards marketable solutions, as well as the value-based advancement of future technologies.

This innovative model supports female artists in nurturing and developing talent and recognition.

A group of great mentors provides a specific program teaching techniques in promoting, production and funding, and helps in creating high quality presentations and defeating procrastination.

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