How Might We? Reflections on Visioning the Future During A [New] American Dream

By Nina Maturu, Featured Artist during A [New] American Dream

Hi, I’m Nina Maturu, a futurist and multi-disciplinary artist.

I was recently a Futurist at NASA, where I charted societal futures for the next 50 years, identifying the critical infrastructure necessary for societal flourishing.

With technology moving so quickly, it can be difficult to anticipate the next five years let alone 50 years. As a Futurist, I use statistical analysis and quantitative data for the near in, but need more conceptual methods for thinking further out. This is when I turn to philosophy and art. Art provides me with the space to engage with abstract topics, lean into my imagination, and tangibly experiment with ideas.

My work displayed at the Heurich House as part of A [New] American Dream exhibit, showcased my (ongoing) experimentation with ideas around with how we, as human beings, might re-design our society to better handle the primary challenges of the 21st century – healthcare, education, climate change, income inequality and poverty, democratic representation, the list goes on. There is a deep contradiction that such systems are so strong that they construct the modern world, and yet so brittle that they break within hours. My germinal thoughts came to life in How Might We, a participatory art installation, on how we might redesign our society collectively.  

Maturu (pictured) created the original work during an artist residency in Oaxaca City, Mexico in 2022. Photo by Javier Sánchez. 

The Seeds

I created How Might We at Pocoapoco, an artist residency in Oaxaca City, Mexico. It was 2022 and I could see the cracks clearly. Our modern institutions, systems, and structures were crumbling, and we needed a plan for what to build next. However, I was interested in how we could do the visioning in a collective, participatory way, rather than through a team of experts. There is no single actor, group, or institution for these societal problems. Who is affected by climate change, except the entire planet? It required a shared human consciousness.

Inspired by Mexican revolutionary art techniques, I combined street art, woodcut prints, and blank posters awaiting visitors' input. I wanted to show the raw, unpolished stages of creation, to emphasizes that societal change is an ongoing, often messy process.

The completed work consisted of a series of provokes that were placed in contextually relevant city spaces to spark imagination and elicit responses. The intention was to not only evoke reactions, but encourage people to break from their routine, pause, and dream. In today’s always-on culture, the reflective pause may be the most valuable resource for shifting society and can be seen as revolutionary act in itself. You can see the work in action here.

The prints created from the hand-carved woodblocks (right) were wheatpasted in contextually relevant spaces (left), highlighting local issues that were identified during community workshops run by the artist. Photo by Nina Maturu. 

There is a rawness, impermanence, and accessibility in street art. It’s done quickly to not attract attention and can be taken down at any moment. The streets capture everyone, the casual passerby, the businessperson, the manual worker, or a group of school children. Everyone becomes a part of the conversation. It's not relegated to the conference rooms of high-level decision-makers or the walls of a museum. 

The Growth

Fast forward to 2024 when I was working in government. I continued to ruminate on the ideas present in How Might We and the seeds of this participatory art exhibit laid the groundwork for a multi-million-dollar Participatory Futures program. In an increasingly polarized society, how might we engage in dialogue and create a shared vision of the future together? The program would engage the entire US public to think about our shared future by using creative technologies like serious games and speculative artifacts allowing for scale in new ways.

And while this ambitious program no longer exists (you can learn about it here), the reimagining of our shared futures still needs to take place. 

Maturu presenting on the Participatory Futures program in Ottawa, Canada.
Photo by FWD50. 

The Replanting

That is why I was excited to bring How Might We to the Heurich House in June 2026. As the exhibit moved from the streets of Mexico to Washington, DC, the posters provoked different conversations on US society.  How Might We became a commentary on wealth, access, and preservation.  The juxtaposition of raw street posters to the opulence of the house made one question – what is worth preserving and what should be taken down?

As the institutions around us crumble, it is ever more important to collectively imagine what comes next, otherwise we risk building the same structures that failed us in the first place.

In the abundance of possibility, what do we need to plant and grow for societal flourishing?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Nina can be found on Instagram @ninamaturu.

In How Might We at the Heurich House, the enormous posters spotlighted how these questions can no longer be ignored. Over 200 visitors contributed alternative futures on florescent cards. Photo by Vivian Marie Doering.