The Utopian Impulse

A Dream on Display

Writing

As a practitioner interested in the utopian imaginaries from the perspective of history, Smeeing participated in the International Conference Utopian Imaginaries : Past, Present and Future, which took place in Madrid 30 September, 1 and 2 October 2015. The aim of the conference was to establish a link between the past and the present in which the former may help to understand the sense and the importance of utopia in the modern world and, at the same time, inspire the development of new utopian perspectives. Smeeing wrote particularly on the need for designers to focus on social change, with a reflection on the 1960’s avant garde culture of critical and constructive utopias, and the lessons that could be learned and applied to the current capitalist system.

Year : 2014

Keywords : Participating, Spectating, Spectacle, Constructed situation, Detournement 

Institution : Royal College of Art

Supervisor : Tom Cubbin