What kind of ‘work’ will you be doing in 2030? What kind of ‘worker’ will you be? Today, we are in the midst of numerous heated debates around the future of work. Sensationalist headlines such as ‘Robots to get human rights’ or ‘Welcome to the three-day working week’ have already entered our everyday lives.

This exhibition endeavours to capture a discourse that’s in progress. Everyday new articles, research and experiments are coming out that push the boundaries of our expectations, hopes and fears around the future of work. The heady mixture of anxiety, opportunity and complexity that surrounds this subject area makes How Will We Work a potent space for critical thinking, and investigation. From precarious working conditions, to self-actualisation, alternative economies and Industry 4.0, this exhibition aims to lead a discussion on radical changes to the way we define and think about the role of work.

Whether its row upon row of robotic arms taking over our workspaces, or algorithms performing increasingly complex civic and professional work, visions of work in the near future are often presented as troubling and dystopian. But, these challenges are never black or white. How Will We Work invites you to reflect on the many discussions and explorations taking place around emerging technologies and work in our societies. The show investigates how emerging technology and contemporary market forces invisibly drive the important decisions that affect how we will work.

We want to show how the creative sector can lead this debate to inspire decision makers across the board to renegotiate the way we work, and develop more sustainable and equitable futures. The complexity of the world around us continues to change our working lives, so we ask:

What can we do to shape this new frontier, before it shapes us?

Curators:
Gerald Bast (Rektor Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien), Anab Jain (Superflux, Professorin für Industrial Design, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien)

Artists:
Morehshin Allahyari & Daniel Rourke, automato.farm, Stephan Bogner & Philipp Schmitt, Perry Chen, Common Works, Design Friction, Alicia Eggert, Harun Farocki, Laura Forlano, Marshall Brown, Lili Du, Ron Henderson & Jack Guthman, Lukas Franciszkiewicz (Takram), Alexandra Fruhstorfer, Anne Galloway & Dani Clode, Ian Gwilt & Joe Rolph, Sara Hendren & Caitrin Lynch, Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam, Daniel Kloboucnik, Maximilian Lackner, Sam Lavigne, Lemmings, Liquid Factory, Joe Macleod, Nicholas Masterton, Tim Maughan, Me You and the Robot, Ivica Mitrović & Oleg Šuran, Charlotte Nordmoen, Normally, (OFFTIME), Johanna Pichlbauer, Fabio Hofer, Felix Lenz & Jekaterina Shipilenko, Tobias Revell, Strange Telemetry, The UK Digital Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service unMonastery, Addie Wagenknecht

With text contributions by: Luciano Floridi, Karen Gregory, Scott Santens, Scott Smith, Nick Srnicek, Alex Taylor, Judy Wajcman