souvenirs from the future, 2022

collaboration with Andrew Demirjian
A speculative fiction presented as an ethnographic museum within the Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI

Souvenirs from the Future is a fictive survey of artifacts from an undated future that tell the story of Mustaqbaaaahpolis (future-breath-city), a city built on interchange of ideas, aesthetics and knowledge in a system liberated of chrononormativity and extractive economic systems. The exhibition presents the material culture and rituals of this thriving south west Asian / north African (SWANA) imaginary, which values sensory experiences, creativity, post-commodity exchanges and a deep connection to the natural world. The installation uses the familiar experience of engaging with traditional institutional presentations that look back in linear time, but instead it invites visitors to look forward and envision the possibilities of a future history.