in good we trust | denver biennial for the americas
A Letter to the Future: In Good We Trust
February 3, 2009We find ourselves between things. In transition. We find ourselves asking questions new questions - questions of purpose. Propelled by these questions we seek new possibilities for change. In this way we are on the cusp of a new era. The 21st Century brings with it a sense of optimism for what is to come. I believe in this optimism and the sheer massive potential of this future. I have born witness to its roots over the past decade through a network of innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative thinkers. And, I witnessed its blossom to scale at an inspiring spectacle, in Denver, in August 2008.
Never before had I experienced such spirited engagement with this future as I did during the Democratic National Convention held in Denver. There was a sense that we were all in this together, actively participating in the optimism. My contribution at this historic moment was through a series of conversations about the future challenges of sustainability that we face as a nation and as a collective world. From this dialogue, so fresh in our memory and so recent as it has launched a new leader, we begin to move towards a new space of action. This is the place in which we begin to imagine a new kind of cultural and civic "Biennial" engagement, that is based on the most fundamental creative acts: Innovation, the act of introducing something new into the world and Entrepreneurship, the act of a building a significant undertaking.
Through our work on Massive Change we have documented and mapped the movement of change-makers broadening the discourse on the future of our collective world. These innovators and entrepreneurs have been leading and participating in a movement in production of new models of public good. This movement is action-based in form and demands active participation by many. It is bound and interconnected by an unspoken and invisible cloud of trust across boundaries of disciplines, institutions, and geographies. I imagine the title of this movement as, “In Good We Trust”.
We will 1) exhibit and articulate, 2) engage participants, 3) produce experiences, 4) build networks, and 5) launch new contributions to “In Good We Trust” in Denver in summer of 2010. This project, a new and radically ambitious cultural project, takes its cue from the energized civic life currently characterizing Denver and innovations currently underway across the Americas and globally. It will be organized through the principles of “proof and possibility”. We will present to the world the diverse creative practitioners that prove this movement is already active and we will catalyze the new possibilities they invite. It is my honor to serve as the first Creative Director of the Denver Biennial of the Americas and lead a vision of the program: In Good We Trust. Be Possibility,
Bruce Mau
Bruce Mau will be serving as creative director starting in 2010 and Denver will be the host city of the biennial every two years after.
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