New utopian pulse is out! 𝐀𝐈 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠? www.uu.nl/en/opinion/a... This post is for anyone who uses AI text-to-image tools or is concerned by their use. It tells an unexpected tale, which led me back to the cornfields of Illinois to interview my dad about 1970s rural America...

Read the new #UtopianPulses blogpost ‘AI Images for dreaming or ghosting?’ where @jochamb.bsky.social invites us into an experiment with students, who were asked to choose an emerging technology and use AI to generate images of two possible futures in 2060. www.uu.nl/en/opinion/a...

Registrations are now open for our PhD course “Transformative Research for Sustainability Challenges”, to be held for the 5th time at Wageningen University April 20 – May 1, 2026. Apply by October 31! There are also partial scholarships for Global South based applicants! www.wur.nl/en/activity/...

Join us in the Playground at Utrecht University next Friday Sept 26 to launch the Library for Transformative Play! It is the product of 4 years of collaborations within the Playing with the Trouble team, funded by CUCo. Sign up here, It's open to all! unusualcollaborations.ewuu.nl/agenda/playi...

Dear fellow trouble-dancer, we are thrilled to share our very first Alterotopian update with you! If you missed the launch of our website, discover how we are Resonating, Raging, and Figuring in #Alterotopia: alterotopia.com

The amazing @jochamb.bsky.social and I got married last week! Thanks to all our family and friends for making it such a special day for us ❤️

So wonderful to finally receive my TWIG (The What If Garden) zine in the mail today—A Field Guide to Radical Imagination! Check it out here: lnkd.in/dw8i2AJv. An output of the Lorentz workshop we hosted in January: Unlocking the Imagination: Art-Science for Radical"!

Last week we kicked off the 4th rendition of our Transformative Research PhD course at Utrecht University! It's been a pleasure getting to know this wonderful group of passionate researchers exploring how to push the boundaries of their research practice. Looking forward to the second week together!

New Utopian Pulse out!—introducing the newly released Utopia*Art*Politics Collection and also new #electronic #atmospheric #triphop song created with the brilliant Noor Noor: www.uu.nl/en/opinion/t.... The collection seeks to revitalise our utopian imagination and politics. Cover art: Felipe Viveros

| Blog | Read @jochamb.bsky.social new blog post where she introduces the Utopia*Art*Politics Collection; a multi-media collection of provocations and insights by 33 artist-researcher-practitioners who participated in the Utopia*Art*Politics Sessions last year: www.uu.nl/en/opinion/t...

We are in much need of inspiration in these treacherous uncertain times… Thrilled to share the 𝗨𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮*𝗔𝗿𝘁*𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, an edited multi-media collection which brings together diverse ideas on how artistic practices can help reimagine and remake our world. Download: www.uu.nl/en/research/...

What should an 'Institute for Sustainable Worlds' do? I wrote some initial thoughts about what we're trying at Norwich University of the Arts: architectures.danlockton.co.uk/2025/03/26/c...

The time is finally here to apply for our Urban Futures Studio summer school 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗿𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵, organised by wonderful colleagues Jeroen Oomen, Tim Stacey & Maarten Hajer! @futuresstudiouu.bsky.social Apply by April 1st! utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/soci...

New Utopian Pulse out @futuresstudiouu.bsky.social: The perils of foretelling the future: www.uu.nl/en/opinion/t.... My effort to make sense of recent struggles, from Trump's re-election and spread of populism across Europe, to deepening rifts among pessimistic & optimistic outlooks in the classroom

| Blog | "We have been so busy recovering from the recent pandemic of the body, that we have been blind to the growing pandemic of the #imagination" Read @jochamb.bsky.social 's new blog post: The perils of foretelling the #future www.uu.nl/en/opinion/t...

Join us for the public lecture 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥: 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬? Together we will map the emotional landscape of climate conversations. 📅 Jan 29, 5-6:30pm + drinks 📍 Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Leiden More details here! rijksmuseumboerhaave.nl/te-zien-te-d...

Just in the nick of time, I blew the cobwebs off the blog and finished a post / newsletter looking back at some projects from 2024 — read it here: architectures.danlockton.co.uk/2024/12/31/2... or subscribe to the newsletter: buttondown.email/imaginaries

I like to say I respect despair as an emotion but not an analysis. As an analysis it assumes we know what can and can't happen, and the future is both uncertain and at least to some extent what we make of it. www.newstatesman.com/environment/...

As part of our Transformative Research PhD course last May, Aisha So wrote & illustrated a fantastic story to explore doubt and tensions in research. It won a special award for combining art and academia at EASST-4S, and is now online! Huge congratulations to Aisha!! www.uu.nl/en/news/aish...

So wonderful performing with the Copernicats yesterday, the open jam group at our institute -- 20 colleagues performed together across a spectacular two hour set! 🔥

Hi 👋 We're new at #Bluesky and just getting to know this platform. In the meantime, if you want to know more about us, you could sign up for our quarterly newsletter. #comingsoon mailings.uu.nl/hp/rt6Oc-q1P...

Made a starter pack with a juicy mix of people working on imagination, (embodied) imaginal practice, futures and more. go.bsky.app/G69gDx3

Great to launch the 2nd edition of the Creative Collectives for Utopia zine: Visions of Better Worlds, made by students of the MSc course Imagining the Future for Transformation. It shares futuring approaches co-produced with 6 initiatives around the world. Check it out! www.uu.nl/en/research/...

Applications are now open for our #Creative #Sustainability master’s program. www.aalto.fi/en/creative-... @aaltouniversity.bsky.social

We are living in troubling times. It is difficult to make sense of all interacting logics. That is why I was touched by this profoundly insightful statement by #amitavghosh on the acceptance of the #erasmusprize Highly recommendable. Thanks, @amitav.bsky.social erasmusprijs.org/prijswinnaar...

A must read by @amitav.bsky.social for 'a time of monstrous anomalies, when exterminal violence...can play out on live television...entire cities can be swept away by flash floods...environmental activists receive longer jail sentences than corporate criminals' erasmusprijs.org/prijswinnaar...

What could it mean to foster an 'emotional democracy'? public-mediation.nl/soc24/ Great contributions by Urban Futures Studio colleagues Christina Klubert & Tim Stacey!

Two great book recommendations from Amitav Ghosh yesterday in Utrecht—that challenge the search for easy solutions (left) and how we tell stories (right). He reminds us: "climate does not do the work of politics!"

This piece probably has something for everyone, so read if you look for inspiration.

REVIEW: The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World … Essays, by David Graeber lareviewofbooks.org/article/anar...

Just wrapped up the 2nd rendition of the MSc course Imagining the Future for Transformation! It teaches students to critically examine dynamics that narrow possible futures and co-design ways of opening up imagination with society. Course guide & collective playlist here: www.uu.nl/en/research/...

This new catalogue of transformative university practices in the climate crisis by Lisette van Beek has so many great examples in it, related to mobilizing citizens, imagining alternative futures, blurring art/academia/activism, and more! www.uu.nl/sites/defaul...

Thrilled that we will host our PhD course "Transformative Research for Sustainability Challenges" for the 4th time at Utrecht University May 12-23, 2025. Just one week left to apply—deadline is November 7! utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/soci... And we offer scholarships for PhDs in the global south.

After a bit of a social media hiatus following the death of Twitter, looking forward to reconnecting with people here!