Rewriting The Future at Site Gallery, Sheffield

Science fiction has long provided writers, filmmakers and artists with a vehicle to imagine and propose alternative possible futures, as well as to expose the potential flaws and consequences of their age. While numerous iconic names, such as H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, Stanley Kubrick and Fritz Lang, have come to epitomise the genre, the speculative visions put forward by many women (with the exception of Mary Shelley), trans and queer people, and people of colour are far less widely known. In a world still embroiled in a damaging system of patriarchy, racial inequality, and heteronormative values, these voices have a vital role to play. Rewriting The Future at Site Gallery in Sheffield sets out to explore some of the new angles on gender, power, race, technology, ecology and community being put forward by some of the most exciting artists working in the field, reflecting on the conditions of our present as much as those of tomorrow.

The exhibition will feature moving image, performance and sculpture-based work by Sophia Al Maria, Sonya Dyer, Ursula Mayer, Victoria Sin, including new commissions by Dyer and Sin. Expect a wide range of topics to be explored, from medical ethics, environmental devastation and the enslavement of the human race, through to astronaut recruitment activism and Black women of mythology past and future, resulting in a heady mix of warning and hope. Head over on 8 November for a one-off performance by Dyer set 2.5 million light years from Earth, and on 26 November for a special screening of filmmaker Lizzie Borden’s 1983 documentary-style feminist fiction classic Born in Flames, which explores how direct action can confront sexism, racism and class discrimination.