Worldglimpsing: Roleplay and the Design of Alternate Realities

How many worlds are you living in right now? Is it just one, or several? Online, in game simulations, at work, and at home, we create and perform different versions of ourselves every day.

Through a series of experimental works, Worldglimpsing foregrounds roleplay and worlding as civic and political acts through which we can all imagine, speculate, and embody different futures. The works and experiences in this exhibition do not offer solutions to existential problems; they are windows into other ways of moving through the complexities of our moment – and of ourselves.

Glimpse alternate ways of being, interacting, and imagining. Some experiences unfold through screens and sound, inviting you into worlds and roles shaped by others. Others are presented as game simulations, placing you in a world and asking you to take on a role. At the heart of these experiences is design: both a way of shaping worlds and of reframing the one we know, including its societies, cultural behaviours, and identities. Here, you are not just a spectator. You can be a (role)player, influencing and shaping the world(s) you inhabit. Your imagination, your choices, and your participation frame the experiences.

ArkDes and Nieuwe Instituut invite you to explore the line between reality and fantasy in Worldglimpsing: Roleplay and the Design of Alternate Realities, where visitors are part of the action.