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e197 zan chandler - other ways of responding to the world
Season 5 Episode 197
- That's the thing about the future's work and foresight work is you need a very broad range of thinkers. You need people from different perspectives who speak different languages and who recognize different worldviews. I think that's always why artists will be important in that process, because they are not necessarily coming from sort of mainstream culture. They may be immersed, raised in mainstream culture, but they're often trying to say, hey, there are other ways of seeing the world, and there are other ways of responding to the world that we're in right now.
I first met Zan Chandler in 1999 when we were both starting work at the Canada Council for the Arts running arts programs. I’ve kept in touch with Zan over the years and have followed her career as an arts educator and expert in foresight.
I’ve always been fascinated with various forms of futuring so I was happy when Zan clarified, for example, the difference between forecasting and foresight. We also talked about foresight into the future of the arts and how the arts can help us anticipate better futures.
Zan’s journey in the arts and foresight fields began with her background in linguistics, shifting to arts through photography and film, leading to work at the Department of Canadian Heritage on arts and film policy and now at Policy Horizons Canada.
During our conversation Zan notes that artists are good at sensing societal shifts and addressing various forms of injustices. Our conversation explored the potential of art and artists in foresight work, such as storytelling and emotional connections.
Zan suggests that the inclusion of artists in foresight work can help challenge our assumptions and introduce new and valuable perspectives.
We also talked about the impact of COVID:
- While I might have been a little doom and gloom about what happened during COVID and how devastating some of the impacts were on the arts community, I think one thing that came through strongly for me was how the innate need to create together, regardless of what the context was, remained. And we have so many examples of the creative sector coming together to raise spirits and to create in ways, in new ways.
My takeaway, if not my prognosis, is that we need to be prepared for multiple outcomes while remaining open and actively working on new possibilities. Zan reminds us that:
- That's the idea around foresight. If you imagine that it's possible, you've at least started to think about : what do I have to do if this happens and how do I recognize that it might be beginning to happen.
If you are interested in exploring ways of being and perceiving that likely different to what you were exposed to in school and at work, Zan recommends the following books as a good start:
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta
- The work of Gabor Mate and Bessel van der Kolk
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Sections (generated by AI and reviewed by Claude Schryer)
Introduction to the Podcast
The podcast kicks off with a warm welcome to Zan, highlighting her long-standing connection and the intent to explore the intersection of arts and foresight.
Zan’s Journey into Arts and Foresight
Zan shares their unique background, detailing their unexp
Published on 1 year, 3 months ago