Playing with the Future: Art, Systems, and Participation

November 2nd, 2026
2:30 - 5 PM (refreshments provided)
McIntosh Gallery

Registration limited — Register here!

How do the systems that shape our everyday lives influence the futures we imagine? Inspired by Three Dimensions by Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, this participatory workshop creates a dialogue between contemporary art and futures thinking. Drawing on the exhibition’s explorations of technology, control, participation, failure, and the boundaries between reality and fiction, participants will examine the hidden assumptions and rules embedded in the systems around us. Through collaborative exercises and speculative world-building, participants will imagine alternative possibilities and explore how changing the rules of the present might create different futures. 

About Luis

Luis Patricio has been involved in a wide range of projects spanning urban placemaking, local organic agriculture, zero-waste initiatives, cycling advocacy, alternative education, social art, and sport. Many of these projects have been deeply collaborative, bringing people together to explore shared challenges and possibilities. A common thread across these diverse initiatives is creating opportunities for people to critically reflect on the present while cultivating the conditions to imagine and actively build more sustainable and just futures.

Luis teaches Participatory Futures at Huron University and is a Graduate Fellow at the Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Urban Studies in the Department of Geography and Environment at Western University. Outside of his academic and community work, Luis enjoys aikido, cooperative board games, circle dancing, and exploring the ideas and possibilities of the solarpunk movement.