EXHIBITION: UN Summit of the Future SMART Futures Exchange

The United Nations Summit of the Future convenes global leaders to adopt a groundbreaking Pact for the Future. This summit focuses on themes of sustainable development, global digital cooperation, international peace and security, and future generations. The outcome includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations, aiming to transform global governance and address emerging challenges for humanity.

As part of the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future, the SMART Futures Exchange was hosted on September 20, 2024, engaging participants in exploring future scenarios through immersive art and experiences. This exchange invited visitors to journey to the year 2050 and beyond, focusing on how art, creativity, and technological advancements could shape a sustainable and hopeful future for humanity. 

The United Nations Summit of the Future convenes global leaders to adopt a groundbreaking Pact for the Future. This summit focuses on themes of sustainable development, global digital cooperation, international peace and security, and future generations. The outcome includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations, aiming to transform global governance and address emerging challenges for humanity.

As part of the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future, the SMART Futures Exchange was hosted on September 20, 2024, engaging participants in exploring future scenarios through immersive art and experiences. This exchange invited visitors to journey to the year 2050 and beyond, focusing on how art, creativity, and technological advancements could shape a sustainable and hopeful future for humanity.  

As part of the SMART Futures Exchange, Portals to the Future was one of the key interactive experiences. Curated by a collective of women futurists including Cyndi Coon and Kim Larkin (co-founder of The Futures Hive), the project explores visionary ideas for the future through digital, artistic, and conceptual installations.

This event was part of the official activities of the 2024 United Nations General Assembly, held during the 79th session. It aimed to inspire a universal conversation about creativity, technology, and how humanity can collaboratively build a better, sustainable future on Earth and in space.

Amy Karle’s Interactive Artwork
Echoes from the Valley of Existence, 2024.
Presented during the SMART Futures Exchange, part of the United Nations Summit of the Future.

Amy Karle’s Echoes from the Valley of Existence was one of six featured projects in the Portals to the Future exhibition at the SMART Futures Exchange, part of the United Nations Summit of the Future. This interactive artwork immersed participants in a journey through space and time, prompting reflection on the legacy of human DNA, AI, and digital remains packaged for long-term storage on the moon. Visitors considered how digital and quantum technologies intersect with human bodies and consciousness now and into the future, imagining themselves as future beings discovering this artifact on the moon, created and packaged in 2024.

The artwork explored themes aligned with the Summit’s focus on interdependence, sustainability, and shaping the future. It challenged participants to reflect on their relationship with time, technology, and legacy, offering a visionary glimpse into how these forces might shape humanity’s journey.

Visitors were transported to the year 2050, engaging with a Future Village in Space through interactive portals that connected human DNA, AI, digital legacies, and quantum technology, sparking dialogue about creativity, collaboration, and sustainability.

Thank you to Echoes From The Valley of Existence
Collaborators: Sefa Sagir, Bartosz Wyszynski, Wiktor Krokosz
And Sponsors: LifeShip, SIAF 2024, Studio Quantum (as part of Goethe-Institut Irland)

https://www.amykarle.com/project/echoes/
https://www.blueprintforthefuture.com/portfolio/echoes-from-the-valley-of-existence

Museum of Ideas Contribution
Amy Karle’s work was featured alongside the Museum of Ideas, led by Shannon Mullen O’Keefe, which delved into bold, forward-thinking concepts through interviews with thought leaders, exploring how ideas shape the future. Amy Karle’s own interview was also highlighted, contributing to the broader dialogue on the transformative power of creativity and innovation in building a future-focused world.