Play, heritage and AI senses

Play

Play, by Swedish artist Alexander Ekman for the Paris Opera Ballet, is a contemporary dance performance that explores the concept of playfulness and its role in human life. Known for his innovative and theatrical style, he also choreographed the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony. In Play, the theatrical fourth wall is broken through interactive staging and direct engagement with the audience, blending theatrical and real-world elements. It has been repeatedly been performed since 2017. You can check out the video here

Heritage

London-born Abu Finiin, Kayum Miah and Zak Hajjaj, who call themselves Kids of the Colony, travelled to their family homelands and broadcasted their experiences on YouTube. Together they visited Bangladesh, Morocco, and Somaliland to experience their heritage. From meeting a "120-year-old" relative to drinking camel's milk in Somaliland, they described their experiences as often surreal. They wanted to reconnect themselves and other second and third-generation immigrant young people to their roots, heritage, identity, and the stories that make us who we are. You can see the episodes here

We have described the longing and revisiting of cultural heritage in Memories Restored in our Vision 2026 Nostalgia Forever deepdive.

Home

Lemaire’s first flagship store in Tokyo combines timeless design and local craftsmanship. Located in a 1960s private home in Ebisu, Shibuya, the boutique offers a calm escape in the busy city. Traditional Japanese plaster walls, Sudare bamboo blinds, and Shoji screens are combined with Lemaire’s clothes and French style. The almost hidden location creates an immersive, intimate retail experience of crafts, books, collectable art, and rooms where the clothes hang in open wardrobes. Local architect Yuichi Hashimura wanted to emphasize the domestic atmosphere, a feeling of everyday living in a private residence, retaining the traditional Japanese design elements. You can see more here

AI Senses

The idea that you can taste a colour or sound may seem strange, but research shows that colours, shapes, and sounds can influence flavours. A pink sphere might evoke sweetness, or music might alter the taste of wine. Generative AI appears to mimic this sensory blending that scientists call cross-modal correspondences. Imagine an AI pairing senses in ways we have not thought of before. Researcher Carlos Velasco is exploring how these insights can be used to influence the human senses. You can read more here

Future Vision

In 1974, Saturday Review gathered visionaries to predict life in 2024, presenting bold forecasts that reflect their hopes and anxieties for the future. Luminaries like Isaac Asimov, Neil Armstrong, and Wernher von Braun imagined worlds shaped by advanced technology, interplanetary exploration, and environmental transformation. From personal computers and online commerce to life on Mars, their predictions ranged from eerily accurate to delightfully ambitious. While global connectivity and renewable energy advances came true, flying cities and weather control are not here yet. It is interesting to read what they got right and wrong, it is both a historical document and a cultural artefact and reveals a mix of faith in humanity’s progress and cautionary warnings about our future. You can explore here

Navigating Complexities

Preparing for the future isn’t about predicting what’s to come. It’s about cultivating the mindstate to navigate and shape what lies ahead. Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist Frederik Pferdt wrote a book about a forward-thinking mindstate that will help you navigate complexity and uncertainty with intention and create the future you want to see. Read more here