The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene awakens us to the physical and social effects of the Anthropocene, a much-debated term used to define a new geological epoch shaped by human activity. Structured around ecological issues, the exhibition presents photography, video, and sculpture that address subjects and themes related to raw materials, disasters, consumption, loss, and justice. More than thirty-five international artists respond to dire global and local circumstances with resistance and imagination—sustaining an openness, wonder, and curiosity about the world to come.
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Opening Apr. 27, The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene will feature a “collage of ecological issues” by forty-five international artists that work across a spectrum of media—including photography, video, and sculpture—to address broader themes of deluge, raw materials, consumption, extinction, symbiosis, justice, and imaginary futures.
The “Anthropocene” describes a new geological epoch in which human activity impacts the ecological balance of the planet and is the main driver of change, at a global scale.
The World to Come addresses a range of topics from disaster and environmental devastation and loss, to the emergence of new bonds and alliances between humans and non-humans. It tackles topics such as fast growing populations, waste and resource scarcity, inequality and protest, and the effects of technology. The artists featured also make a call for optimism with new ways of imagining a vibrant future for the world to come.
”When visitors come to the exhibition, what I mostly want them to do is to have a chance to pay attention, to really think and see deeply the beauty of our world and how important it is for us to keep it whole,” said Kerry Oliver-Smith, Harn Museum Curator of Contemporary Art. “Artists can change the status quo. They help us not only see the damage in the world, but they really do let us understand our strong bond with nature and how much we are the same.”
The exhibition brings together artists from across the world, demonstrating a shared international engagement around these global issues.
"The World to Come visualizes a world’s worth of perspectives on climate issues,” said Jennifer M. Friess, Assistant Curator of Photography at UMMA. “By bringing this exhibition to the University of Michigan, we hope to foreground the deep thinking artists are sharing as part of the critical conversations already happening in Ann Arbor and this region around issues of environmental research and sustainability.”