A cross between a game, a choreography and a philosophical playground. Come and find out what you really mean when you think about the future, freedom and 100 other fundamental ideas.

'How Many Chairs to Build The Future?' sits somewhere between choreography, sculpture, conversation and play. In simple terms it is an installation in which people use multiple identical chairs to represent abstract concepts chosen at random.

Hamish MacPherson:

The piece is part of my wider interest in how choreographic frameworks and scores can offer ways to think and talk about philosophy and politics in ways that are not available through traditional reading, writing and discussion. Points of reference include exercises by Augusto Boal and Nomic, a game created by philosopher Peter Suber, but most importantly the work by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson on Conceptual Metaphor. Within this is the understanding that abstract concepts (e.g. morality) are typically understood in terms of concrete ones (e.g. cleanliness).

Although chairs have their limitations, there is something about being able to see, touch and co-create other people’s ideas that I think is both fun and profound.

21st August, 11:00-17:00