Liminal Space Attends Future Design Retreat

On October 26th, Liminal Space members Weston and Dion took part in an innovative event in Cupertino that used the concepts of Future Design to facilitate intergenerational collaboration. The activities focused on California Prop 4 as a case study for Future Design to generate innovative local policy. It is hoped that practices such as Future Design can catalyze social system changes needed to address environmental issues. 

Multigenerational thinking and future visioning allow us to embody diverse perspectives. By using imagination to embody different points of view, we can think more critically about problems and their solutions. This, in turn, encourages us to broaden our awareness beyond our lifetimes.

“Future generations cannot participate in today’s markets and, hence, cannot express their willingness to preserve current resources." [1]

- Tatsuyoshi Saijo, Future Design

What we did

On a crisp Cupertino morning, over 60 people of youth, middle, or elder age gathered to engage in Future Visioning and Intergenerationalism to inform decision-making about California Proposition 4. Prop 4 is a proposition, now passed, that authorizes bonds for clean drinking water, wildfire, and climate risk resilience which is in response to California’s growing environmental threats. 40% of the funds will be directed to communities most affected by these issues.

In small groups of 5-8 people, participants explored Proposition 4 through a debate-style activity. We discussed topics in Prop 4 by applying the perspectives of people from 1999, 2024, and 2049. By taking on the roles of past, present, and future generations we encouraged physical embodiment of the issues.

“Younger generations are eager to engage and benefit tremendously from intergenerational dialogues in my experience. These kinds of interactions enhance meaning, connect people to resources, and leave a lasting impact on the lives of participants.”

- Dion Shattuck

Why it matters for Liminal Space

“It is my strongly held belief that embodied immersive education is one of the best ways for people to inform themselves, make good decisions, and act on them. These visceral and emotional experiences can reduce apathy and activate activism.”

- Weston Mossman

As Liminal Space continues to create interactive multidisciplinary art to foster connection and catalyze change, we are excited to apply Future Design principles in our work. 

- How can we create immersive art environments that encourage multigenerational thinking?

- How might Liminal Space events serve as a space for learning about local policy?

- How can Liminal Space events connect people of different generations?

Going forward, we will experiment with the potential for Liminal Space’s creative, interdisciplinary practices to address complex challenges including environmental policy decisions like Prop 4. By integrating Future Design principles into interactive art and community engagement, we can strengthen multigenerational bonds, enable dialogue, and inspire action for systemic change.

1. Saijo, T. (2020). Future Design: Bequeathing Sustainable Natural Environments and Sustainable Societies to Future Generations. Sustainability, 12(16), 6467. [link]

2.  Katherine Richardson  et al. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Sci. Adv. Vol 9, Issue 37 [link]