Worldmaking describes the process of creating fictional universes that reflect the best and worst aspects of our real world. Popular stories today often depict dystopian worlds–think Hunger Games, The Giver, or Parable of the Sower–warning us about what our world becomes when tyranny and inequality rule. The problem with these stories is that they don’t always offer tangible solutions to the real problems they represent. 

 

This year’s Kickback theme embraces worldmaking, not just as a tool for storytelling, but as a framework for imagining and building a human-centered and sustainable society from the ground up. Each gallery presents a reality where humanistic practices, spaces, and systems make the oppressive institutions of our present, obsolete. The goal is to inspire a world that leads with empathy and creativity towards the flourishing of all peoples.

 

In Worldmaking, art is a vessel through which our liberatory visions and vibrant imaginations can become three-dimensional. Where the world we want to live in can be seen, heard, and felt. Worldmaking is the action after we resist–a reflection of what came before, what our world consists of now, and what it can become in the future. We need to start somewhere to be able to contribute in some way. Maybe it’s here at this year’s Kickback, together.