ART 2030 and the United Nations Enacts Meaningful Change with “FUTURE OURS”

Art is a powerful tool to enact meaningful change. Especially at such a fraught moment in history, the implications of conceptually rigorous and thoughtfully organized art events can make huge impacts. ART 2030 is doing just that in coordination with the 79th United Nations General Assembly taking place this September with the opening of “FUTURE OURS,” an exhibition on view both at the UN as well as throughout New York’s five boroughs and on view from September 13-29.

Comprised of an expert curatorial team, Patricia Domínguez, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Jeppe Ugelvig, and an incredible mix of participating artists, including the likes of Maya Lin, Olafur Eliasson, and Yinka Shonibare CBE, the conceptual framework for the show focuses on highlighting the work of 21 contemporary artists and collectives’ presenting their visions of a more sustainable future.

Founded by collector and philanthropist Luise Faurschou, ART 2030 was formed as a way to create connections through art with the UN Global Goals, in hopes of inspiring and educating people about ways to make lasting, impactful changes for the betterment of society. With the opening of “FUTURE OURS,” the organization is demonstrating that immense power inherent in exhibition making and its ability to engage a global audience. 

Whitewall sat down with Luise Faurschou to find out more about this ambitious, thought-provoking exhibition, and the impacts it hopes to convey through the multidimensional program. 

Courtesy of ART 2030.

WW: Can you talk about the significance of launching “FUTURE OURS” during this particular UN General Assembly and how it aligns with the goals of the Summit of the Future?

LUISE FAURSCHOU: This UN General Assembly is widely regarded as the most crucial in generations, and The Summit of the Future brings world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future. How do we cooperate better, how do we better meet the needs of the present while also preparing for the challenges of the future? 

Similar to this, “FUTURE OURS” is addressing current and future global challenges and exploring how art, in proposing new social, political, and economic functions for itself, can serve as a unique method of critical world-building, reweaving a dialogue between social, economic, and ecological equity for the planetary community at large.

Courtesy of ART 2030.

Partnering with a Visionary Curatorial Team

WW: How did you identify the curatorial team for this exhibition, and what was the selection process like for securing such a diverse mix of participating artists? 

LF: ART 2030 has always endeavored to work with visionary leaders in their field as well as with emerging voices and grassroots movements. In the case of identifying the curatorial team for Future Ours, we have engaged Hans Ulrich Obrist, who is one of the most experienced and progressive figures in his field, and two rising curators: Patricia Domínguez, an artist whose work bridges experimental research on ethnobotany, healing practices, and the corporatization of wellbeing, and Jeppe Ugelvig, an independent curator, critic, historian, and Ph.D. candidate whose research focuses on artistic responses to consumerism and product culture in the 20th century. Together, they formed a dynamic team with diverse interests, backgrounds, and artist relationships. 

The contributing artists and collectives were selected because their artistic projects reach far beyond the time frame of “FUTURE OURS” and their visual language as artists compel people to stop and think—that’s important when our canvas is the busy streets of New York City! These artists are tackling issues that are deeply embedded in the harmful way we live on this planet. We are facing a complex multitude of challenges, so it was central to invite a diverse group of artists to respond. 

“ART 2030 has always endeavored to work with visionary leaders in their field as well as with emerging voices and grassroots movements,”

Luise Faurschou

Courtesy of ART 2030.

Uniting Political Engagement and Grassroots Public Interaction

WW: What motivated you to use both the UN Headquarters and JCDecaux bus shelters as exhibition spaces for this project? How do these locations contribute to the project’s core goals?

LF: This is ART 2030’s third time presenting an art installation inside the UN Headquarters during the General Assembly. Art is a universal language that offers new ways of thinking about and seeing the world. I believe it is crucial to introduce artists’ voices in all aspects of society. That is why it is essential to show these artistic visions of a better future to policy makers during The Summit of the Future. We cannot be silent as an industry and ART 2030 makes it possible for artists to have a voice. 

By distributing the works on hundreds of bus shelters across the city we hope to bring these powerful messages into the everyday lives of the city’s residents and encourage them to reflect. The combination of high-level political engagement and grassroots public interaction that is “FUTURE OURS” perfectly aligns with our organization’s mission to encourage dialogues at both societal and individual levels. 

Courtesy of ART 2030.

Sustainability Placed at the Heart of ART 2030

WW: How was sustainability incorporated into the production of the exhibition? 

LF: Sustainability is a key principle in all our projects. By organizing everything related to the exhibition through virtual meetings—from printing all works locally to leaning on local partners and contributors for the launch—we were able to ensure an environmentally conscious approach in “FUTURE OURS.”

“Sustainability is a key principle in all our projects,”

Luise Faurschou

New Red Order with Riley Hooker, “Sick and Tired of Living on Stolen Land,” 2023; Courtesy of the artist and ART 2030.

Traveling to Denmark Towards a Common Future

WW: The show will travel to Denmark in 2025 as part of the Kunsthal Charlottenborg Biennale in Copenhagen. How will these two iterations of the exhibition differ? 

LF: “FUTURE OURS” in New York City marks a starting point for a conversation that is relevant to bring to all corners of the world. When the exhibition travels to Denmark in 2025, it will present the same 21 works. The discussion that “FUTURE OURS” and The Summit of the Future raises is one that we all need to engage in going forward. We are all heading towards one common future, so it is essential that we all contribute to it. This means our mission is to continue the conversation among the policymakers and the general public of Denmark.

Raqs Media Collective “Switch”, 2024; Courtesy of the artist and ART 2030.

“‘FUTURE OURS’ in New York City marks a starting point for a conversation that is relevant to bring to all corners of the world,”

Luise Faurschou

WW: What is your hope from both the art world and non-art world visitors or people who might interact with this program? 

LF: Art has the power to create space for reflection, which is a solid base for changing behavior. The aim of “FUTURE OURS” is the same as all our public projects for ART 2030 – to inspire audiences to discuss the multiple crises we are facing with the people around them and to help them understand that they have a mandate to also do something about it. We are strongly committed to the belief that art changes people, and people change the world.