Speculative Energy Futures
// Multi-year, Collaborative Research-Creation Project, 2017-2023 // Part of Just Powers, an interdisciplinary research cluster at the University of Alberta //
Speculative Energy Futures (SEF) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, research-creation initiative that brings together artists, activists, scientists, engineers, policy makers, and energy humanities scholars to investigate the challenges and possibilities of energy transition through artistic means. Using interdisciplinary and arts-based approaches, SEF aims to reimagine energy futures beyond conventional paradigms, exploring feminist, decolonial, and justice-oriented pathways toward a more livable planet.
Through a combination of exhibitions, publications, podcasts, and experimental research-creation projects, SEF challenges dominant narratives about energy and climate transition, instead using speculative methodologies to uncover alternative futures.
Roles + Projects
Producer, Just Powers Podcast (2017–2020) – A series featuring readings and discussions on the pressing energy and environmental issues of our time.
Facilitator, After Oil School 2: SOLARITIES (May 2019) – A global gathering of energy humanities scholars exploring the social, cultural, and political shifts necessary for a post-fossil-fuel future.
Exhibitions + Research-Creation Outputs
Energy Emergency Repair Kit (E.E.R.K.) – A speculative toolkit designed to navigate today’s energy crises through playful and critical interventions.
Notes from the Energetic Quietus (EQ) – A performative lecture and sound installation investigating the inaudible, the exhausted, and the refused dimensions of energy transition.
FluxKit for Energy Transition – A mobile, experimental toolkit showcased in St. Gallen, Switzerland (2022) during SEF’s artist residency at SQUARE, University of St. Gallen.
SEF’s many iterations and beta tests invite participants to critically engage with ecological, climate, and energy justice, using speculative and artistic approaches to challenge extractivist logics and expand the possibilities for just energy transition.
Illustrations by Mariah Barnaby-Norris (Kobot)