"Time Commissioner" scripts: Urgent & Deep Time

In 2023, I was commissioned to write twelve ‘Time Commissioner’ scripts for the Broken exhibition at MOD. gallery (UniSA). This interactive exhibition employed a diverse and innovative set of approaches to address the sense that society seems ‘broken’ at present and exploring, through the lens of Charles Snyder’s “Hope Theory”, means of reclaiming social optimism and finding solutions to a wide array of problems. The exhibit to which I contributed was a series of user-controlled talking heads, each taking the role of “commissioner” for a different period of future history, outlining concerns and possible approaches for addressing them. Each commissioner required six scripts, and I was contracted to write for two of the commissioners—those of the immediate future (“Urgent”) and across thousands of years (“Deep Time”)—in the categories of Health, Climate, Work, Education, Culture, and Justice. This process spoke strongly to my interest in using speculative fiction/futurism as a means of solving (or at least illuminating) complex societal challenges and in developing mutually beneficial partnerships with community, government, industry, schools and universities, using high-quality, innovative methodologies to reach broad audiences and delivering meaningful impacts. Broken was immensely successful, with 83,000-plus visitors across its time at MOD.. It generated teaching innovations in schoolrooms, and was even discussed in Parliament. It was Highly Commended in national Museum and Galleries awards. The model of using Time Commissioners to shift the perspective for political decision making has informed community consultation processes, and that’s something I’m particularly proud of.