Ecological Futures ‹ Residencies ‹ Spreepark Artspace

An international project for ecological and social transformation

Ecological Futures is a joint initiative of the Goethe-Institut and ARCH+, launched in 2023. The project combines art, architecture, urban practice, science and activism to explore new ways of shaping a socially and ecologically just future. It focuses on exchange between people, disciplines and places – with the aim of addressing socio-ecological transformation not only in theory, but through practical implementation.

What is Ecological Futures?

Ecological Futures operates in cities around the world, bringing together local initiatives, artists, designers, researchers, activists, and residents to identify, discuss, and address ecological and social challenges in specific contexts. At the heart of this process are the lived realities of local communities.

Working closely with local Goethe-Institutes and their partners, the project uncovers needs and potentials. Based on these insights, new collaborations emerge alongside artistic and spatial interventions and strategies that point toward socially and ecologically sustainable futures. The knowledge gained is documented and consolidated into a practical toolkit – a global resource serving as both a knowledge archive and a methodological framework.

Ecological Futures is an evolving project: it grows through the specific places it engages with and the initiatives of the people involved. In the coming years, additional Goethe-Institutes and partner organizations will contribute new themes, continuously expanding international collaboration.

Working method

Ecological Futures follows four guiding processes that can be flexibly adapted to different locations and issues. This approach creates a framework that takes local processes seriously while strengthening international connections.

Inventory: Taking stock of local challenges, resources and actors.
Activation: Building collective imagination and new scope for action.
Intervention: Artistic-spatial and social actions in urban environments, together with local partners.
Consolidation: Documentation, consolidation and transfer of results into transferable tools and methods.

Ecological Futures and Spreepark

Ecological Futures and Spreepark Art Space are jointly developing a new international residency format that builds on Ecological Futures' previous work and combines artistic research, urban practice and socio-ecological issues here on site.

The Spreepark will become a place where global questions about the future and local roots collide: a space for exchange, for new forms of collaborative work, and for testing sustainable transformation processes.

Participation & Collaboration

Participation in the new residency format is by curated invitation. It is aimed at artists and practitioners whose work is situated at the intersection of art, ecology and urban transformation. The focus is on networking: residency participants work on site at Spreepark, collaborate with local initiatives and actively contribute to the international knowledge community of Ecological Futures.