Then, Now, Next: Designing the Future of Crafting and Growing
To mark the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, Humanities Tennessee’s Shared Futures Lab launched a series of events exploring the roles of crafters and growers in the creation and evolution of our new nation, and how these practitioners stand to shape the next chapter of American democracy. Over the winter we gathered crafters, growers, scholars, and futurists for a panel discussion, “Then. Now. Next: Crafters, Growers, and Revolutionary Ideals,” and a speculative design workshop. The events asked Tennesseans to consider past expressions of our Revolutionary Era ideals, and to imagine objects, events, and ideas emerging over the next fifty years to enhance these practitioners’ contributions to and participation in our democratic life.
The Shared Futures Lab invites Tennesseans to be informed, imaginative and intentional about the future, resulting in greater individual and collective agency in shaping tomorrow. If the public has tools to anticipate and adapt, they may wield greater influence over the futures they prefer– “futuring” cultivates democratic practice and a shared desire to collectively create the future.
The Lab’s 250th project shares the practice of futuring with the public on the topics of crafting and growing–activities deeply rooted in tradition and local knowledge, but always shaped by change, from local weather patterns to global trade. Through speculative design, we speculate how potential change may unfold into dramatically different possible futures, and design those futures into stories, systems and objects that people can imagine using.
The workshop, “Then, Now, Next: Designing the Future of Crafting and Growing,” was led by Mark Stanley, Assistant Professor, College of Architecture & Design, UT-Knoxville, and student assistants Caroline Robertson and Beshoy Daniel at the Chattanooga Public Library 4th Floor Makerspace on March 8, 2026. Throughout the day, a group of seven local crafters and growers reflected on where the current trends and challenges to their livelihoods may lead in the next few decades. For example, what if local food and handmade goods were accessible, affordable, and preferable to all Tennesseans? What if the family farm vanished entirely? What if global events led to permanent shortages of our most common manufacturing materials? What would such conditions give rise to, and how would it change society? Thinking through potential change, these seven designers explored how today’s actions, decisions and possibilities could shape what happens tomorrow.
The project culminates in an exhibition of speculative designs from the workshop. “What If…? Designs from the Future of Crafting & Growing” invites the public to collectively consider the experience of future change in the present. By sharing their stories of the future, the designers ask exhibit-goers to think about the stories, images and artifacts on view, and imagine with them a near future marked by myriad potential shifts–climate change, power dynamics, vocational access, cultural priorities–and if/how they imagine their own daily lives fitting into these futures.
“What If…?” exhibition schedule:
Museum & Cultural Center at 5ive Points, Cleveland August 8-October 3, 2026
Southern Festival of Books, Nashville, October 17-18, 2026
Chattanooga State Community College, TBD
The workshop and exhibit are part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Funding was also provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.