Exibições especulativas enquanto modo de engajar o público em tempos de crise

Abstract

Speculative Design is concerned with possibilities rather than probabilities, leading us to consider preferences about a set of possible futures and the ways in which the objects we design either contribute to or undermine our attempts to build those futures. This is an area of Design especially characterized by questioning and discussing new ideas for the future. Speculative Design communicates through a set of tangible probes, such as videos, stories, sets and — the focus of this work — Exhibitions. We believe that an inventively designed trend display containing stimulating and often exciting ideas about what the future might look like has the potential to raise difficult and fundamental questions as a cautionary note about how society should evolve. However, these approaches have not yet been conceived in a participatory way, generally being restricted to groups of researchers or exclusive spaces. We believe that the inclusion of more diverse audiences in the process would be of great contribution in generating insights for designers and for society, causing the rupture of concepts about what can be done in the present so that the future is more successful. Our intention is to understand the potential of exhibitions as a way of engaging the public in times of crisis. To seek to fulfill this objective, a qualitative and exploratory research was developed, divided into two phases: the first consists of a bibliographical and documental research to identify the state of the art on the theoretical body and, the second, in a set of in-depth individual interviews and data collect. Among the research's main findings are the need for in-depth knowledge of the target audience to promote their engagement, as well as overcoming the reluctance shown by a large number of sponsors on taking a stand on current critical issues or possible conflicts of interest.