»Canton Mars«. A Reading and Conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson

In today’s networked, real-time society, we know almost everything about the here-and-now but only a little about what comes next: the future. At the same time, the speculative exploration of the future is omnipresent. In movies, computer games, novels, and even in the arts sections of newspapers, we deal almost obsessively with scenarios for tomorrow.Political debates are also fundamentally concerned with questions about the future. Theories and movements that take a more critical view and urge a departure from the current mandate for growth and expansion are more present than ever. Narratives of the future, which are often dystopian in character, and myths of the past, which are predominantly nostalgic, stand in contrast to one another.

What sorts of stories do we tell each other about the future and why?

In his Mars trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson describes the colonization of the “Red Planet,” using this scenario as an opportunity to sketch alter-native proposals for society that develop and evolve in competition with one another. Together with Philipp Theisohn and Markus Schaefer, Robinson will consider the role of “speculative fiction” and of storytellingas a future technology.

“Canton Mars“ functions as a projection screen for narratives and myths.It offers a glimpse of Switzerland and the future, our longing for it and our fear of it.

Kim Stanley Robinson, Author – the Mars trilogy
Philipp Theisohn, Literary Studies Scholar and Professor of the SNSF Research Project‚ “Conditio extraterrestris,” Universität Zürich
Markus Schaefer, Architect – Co-Curator of the Salon Suisse 2014 and Partner, Hosoya Schaefer Architects

The discussion will take place in English and is a satellite event of Salon Suisse, which is organized by Pro Helvetia at the 2014 Architecture Biennale in Venice.

Time: September 10, 2014 at 20:15
Place: Seebad Utoquai, Zurich

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Press coverage (German)