The HEPHAESTUS project is proud to announce the online release of two digital exhibitions created by D20 Art Lab: A Brave New World and Brave New World Sketches. After being presented to visitors in Italy and Sweden, these works are now accessible to all—inviting viewers to explore speculative futures, reflect on craftsmanship, and engage their own imagination.
A Brave New World: Imagining an alternative future of craft
A Brave New World is the culmination of a three-year process of art-based research across four craft ecosystems. Drawing on video, field recordings, interviews, notes, and generative AI, the exhibition explores how artisans’ worldviews differ from the logic of industrial mass production—and what society might look like if it were shaped by craft-based values instead.
The project developed through multiple stages of sharing and dialogue, including public events at Palazzo Sturm in Bassano del Grappa (2023) Italy, Dals Långed Sweden and Ca’ Foscari University (2024) Italy. The final physical edition was exhibited at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg (2025), Sweden.
At its core, A Brave New World asks:
What if our present-day world had grown from artisanal foundations rather than industrial ones?
The images presented online offer speculative answers—reshaping reality through blurred perspectives, artistic reinterpretation, and artificial creativity.
Brave New World Sketches: Artisans reimagine a craft-led future
Following the feedback from the first release, D20 Art Lab invited artisans to actively contribute to the next phase of the project. Brave New World Sketches, the third chapter in the series, features drawings, material-reuse ideas, and reflections created by makers whose daily work offers an intimate understanding of materials and craft processes.
These sketches—ranging from conceptual objects to notes on sustainable production and imaginative reinterpretations of everyday life—add depth and concreteness to the speculative world first introduced in Postcards from a Brave New World.
The participating artisans include:
Michela Bortolozzi – Relight Venice, Jin Choi, Rob Curran, Karl Hallberg, Jokum Lind Jensen, Jocelin Veronese – 333 Studio, Nynne Rosenkrantz Christiansen, Nicola Pavan, Pol Polloniato, Elena Rausse & Bruno Testa – Te.Ra., Anna Maria Sand Jensen, Alberto Scodro, Valentina Stocco – VS Ceramics.
Their contributions bridge imagination and practice, offering glimpses of how a craft-driven society might function—materially, socially, and culturally.
Art as a space for reflection and imagination
Both exhibitions demonstrate the power of artistic expression to engage with complex themes, overcome cultural boundaries, and create safe spaces for speculation and dialogue. They invite viewers not only to observe but also to imagine their own versions of a more mindful, materially aware world.
The exhibitions are dedicated to the memory of Helena Hansson, researcher at the University of Gothenburg and valued member of HEPHAESTUS, whose passion for craft continues to inspire the project.
Explore the digital exhibitions
Now available online for all, the exhibitions offer an open invitation to reflect, question, and envision alternative futures shaped by craft.
