On April 13, 2016, The Future Making Research Consortium launched a new Aarhus University research project “Creating Future Memories,” led by Annette Markham, Professor of Information Studies at Aarhus University. This April workshop occurred in and around DOKK1, in Aarhus, Denmark. The broader project, ‘Creating Future Memories,’ is a citizen-focused effort to identify and foster ongoing and new creative methods of regaining control of the ‘big data’ we regularly produce in our everyday lives. As contemporary societies become more saturated in digital and social media, it takes time and effort to track our own data, much less curate it in ways that might make sense for our grandchildren. This project aims to provide a series of experimental workshops for citizens to think about what personal data is being collected by large corporations like Google and Facebook, and how this data is archived, packaged, and recycled back to us as if it represents the totality of our lives.

The April launch brought together a vibrant group of individuals who blur the boundaries between art, academics, and activism. I wanted to just toss them in a room together for a couple of days, to see what happened. They’re all brilliant researchers and artists. Each brings strong ethics and a concern for how we might creatively imagine and design possible futures, rather than simply accept what automated technologies might invent on our behalf. – Annette Markham, Project Leader

After a full day of meeting, brainstorming, and preparing on April 13, the group designed two different interactive exhibitions: The Museum of Random Memory and The Helpdesk of Your Future. On April 14 and 15, the group engaged with participants in the Counter Play Festival as well as citizens wandering through the open floor plan of DOKK1. More information about what happened can be found on the project pages.