BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20558@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:THE ELEPHANT IN THE WAITING ROOM edited by Baltan Laboratories DTSTAMP:20260408T193827Z DTSTART:20260410T180000Z DESCRIPTION:WITH LORENZO GERBI (CO-EDITOR)\, MARLOU VAN DER CRUIJSEN (CO-DI RECTOR\, BALTAN\nLABORATORIES)\, BENJI SHEPPARD (CO-EDITOR) AND YUBIN JIA (CONTRIBUTOR) IN\nCONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHORS AT 6.30PM\n\nThe Elephant in the Waiting Room is a collection of 10 science fiction stories\,\ncurat ed by Baltan Laboratories\, which do not address the theme of imminent\ndi saster\, but rather the ways in which we anticipate or overcome it.\nFor t his reason\, the cover design by Carosello Lab on the outside of the book\ ,\nleaves a list of possible catastrophes that orbit around it in an endle ss\ndoomscroll\; yet they remain on the surface\, without determining the stories\ncontained within. This almost counters a widespread trend in scie nce fiction\nthat turns the “pornography of catastrophe” and its spectacle into\nentertainment. Our authors are not interested in the gruesome detai ls of events\nthemselves\, but in the myriad ways we influence them and ar e\, in turn\,\ninfluenced by them.\n\nThe Elephant in the Waiting Room bri ngs together artists\, writers\, and creatives\nfrom different disciplines and nationalities\, posing them a challenge: to write\nabout the technolo gical revolution of the near future—whether for better or\nworse\, tomorro w or a hundred years from now. We asked the authors to reflect on\nthe tra its that define our current technological era and\, instead of imagining\n its climax\, to sketch its prologues and epilogues.\n\nThis collection pro poses an alternative imaginary of revolution: One that is not\nmorbidly fi xated on death and destruction—so often presented as the side effects\nof change—but instead focuses on the people\, places\, and societies that lea d to\nthose supposed “endings” or continue beyond them.\nWe live in the wa iting room—awaiting World War III\, the consequences of climate\nchange\, technological collapse\, and the depletion of natural resources. What\nwou ld our existence be like if it were not defined by this waiting?\n\nThe bo ok is edited by Lorenzo Gerbi\, Julia Kassyk\, and Benji Sheppard\, publis hed\nby Baltan Laboratories\, and distributed by Lecturis. It includes sto ries by\nAmbra Stancampiano\, Margaret Lamanna\, Diego Orihuela Ibañez\, M iguel Parra\, Yubin\nJia\, Riccardo Liberati\, Marjolein Pijnappels\, Juli a Schneider\, and Benji\nSheppard. The graphic design is by CRSL Carosello Lab. The project is co-funded\nby Creative Industries Fund NL and Stichti ng Cultuur Eindhoven.\n\nBaltan Laboratories is an interdisciplinary cultu ral lab based in Eindhoven\, The\nNetherlands\, that explores the relation ships between humans\, non-humans\, and\ntechnology in the context of toda y’s social challenges. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/the-elephant-in-the-waiting-room-edited -by-baltan-laboratories GEO:52.3735679;4.8972388 LOCATION:San Serriffe - Sint Annenstraat 30\, 1012 HE Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:alternative,amsterdam-centrum,books,live,oude kerk,stories X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

with Lorenzo Gerbi (co-editor), Marlou va n der Cruijsen (co-director, Baltan Laboratories), Benji Sheppard (co-edit or) and Yubin Jia (contributor) in conversation with the authors at 6.30pm

The Elephant in the Waiting Room is a collection of 10 science f iction stories, curated by Baltan Laboratories, which do not address the t heme of imminent disaster, but rather the ways in which we anticipate or o vercome it.
For this reason, the cover design by Carosello Lab on the o utside of the book, leaves a list of possible catastrophes that orbit arou nd it in an endless doomscroll; yet they remain on the surface, without de termining the stories contained within. This almost counters a widespread trend in science fiction that turns the “pornography of catastrophe” and i ts spectacle into entertainment. Our authors are not interested in the gru esome details of events themselves, but in the myriad ways we influence th em and are, in turn, influenced by them.

The Elephant in the Waitin g Room brings together artists, writers, and creatives from different disc iplines and nationalities, posing them a challenge: to write about the tec hnological revolution of the near future—whether for better or worse, tomo rrow or a hundred years from now. We asked the authors to reflect on the t raits that define our current technological era and, instead of imagining its climax, to sketch its prologues and epilogues.

This collection proposes an alternative imaginary of revolution: One that is not morbidly fixated on death and destruction—so often presented as the side effects of change—but instead focuses on the people, places, and societies that lead to those supposed “endings” or continue beyond them.
We live in the wa iting room—awaiting World War III, the consequences of climate change, tec hnological collapse, and the depletion of natural resources. What would ou r existence be like if it were not defined by this waiting?

The boo k is edited by Lorenzo Gerbi, Julia Kassyk, and Benji Sheppard, published by Baltan Laboratories, and distributed by Lecturis. It includes stories b y Ambra Stancampiano, Margaret Lamanna, Diego Orihuela Ibañez, Miguel Parr a, Yubin Jia, Riccardo Liberati, Marjolein Pijnappels, Julia Schneider, an d Benji Sheppard. The graphic design is by CRSL Carosello Lab. The project is co-funded by Creative Industries Fund NL and Stichting Cultuur Eindhov en.

Baltan Laboratories is an interdisciplinary cultural lab based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, that explores the relationships between hum ans, non-humans, and technology in the context of today’s social challenge s.

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