Uncertain Futures Installation Two: The Process 

Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2022)

Subsequent to the Interview Process in the first Uncertain Futures installation, the 100 interviewed women were feted in an elegant dinner in the Manchester Art Gallery in November 2021 where they had the chance to meet each other and engage in the ongoing work of the Uncertain Futures Project. The evening featured to-the-point conversation on older women and work discrimination, led by Advisory Group members at each table, but the enthusiasm and high spirits of the participants was evident.

In the second iteration of the exhibition, the group portrait of the dinner participants was installed opposite the Ford Maddox painting entitled “Work.” This installation reveals the research themes, the project development, and timeline of  Uncertain Futures. The interview booth has been transformed into a “research space” where gallery goers can read interviews, look up data on a website, and contemplate the process and goals for the research. Now there are two windows on the outside of the booth where videos of the 100 woman celebration dinner are paired with snatches of their conversation.

As the project moves forward, a team of researchers, assistants and Advisory Group members are analyzing interviews and drafting reports; workshops and public presentations continue to mount and gain visibility (see below) and work is underway to create a final Installation and film in the fall of 2023. 

The Uncertain Futures won the Manchester Culture Award 2022 in the category of Protection of Equality and Social Justice. More information and video interview with Dr. Elaine Dewhurst here.

Read more about Suzanne Lacy’s role in the project as a whole here and visit the Uncertain Futures project webpage here