Take a journey 2,000 years into the future… to look back at our world today.
Collecting Europe was a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in partnership with the British Council. It invited learners and artists around the world to imagine how our present might be viewed from the future.
Kicking off the project, 12 international artists were commissioned to imagine what Europe might look like 2,000 years from now. The 12 artistic commissions formed a display at the V&A. These were followed by further commissions, workshops, debates and other events.
Collecting Europe challenged people to question concepts of boundaries, identity and nationality – themes that are as relevant globally as they are to the debate over Europe.
Shape your vision of Europe online
The organisations collected online answers to questions such as:
- Can you imagine a world without countries?
- National identities could be replaced by digital citizenship. Agree/disagree?
- Would you have a romantic relationship with a robot?
As users answered these questions, they created a coloured shape, a world built from their own concepts of boundaries and borders. Their answers then became part of a collective shape, allowing them to compare their answers with those of others, exploring how people from different countries and of different ages answered each question.