Speculative Play and Just Futurities | Fereshteh Toosi and Dr. Shardé M. Davis

Fereshteh Toosi and Dr. Shardé M. Davis, scholars-in-residence in the Speculative Play and Just Futurities program, will lead a conversation featuring their SPJF project: The Crude Medium and The Sabbath Project (TSP).

Fereshteh Toosi (they/them/theirs) designs experiences and art objects that pose questions and foster animistic connections. Their artwork often involves documentary processes, oral history, and archival research. Immersive performances are produced in conjunction with small sculptures, short films, installations, scores, and poetry, often situated in gardens, parks, and waterways.

In 2022, Fereshteh developed an augmented-reality audio experience for the Independence Seaport Museum with support from the University of Pennsylvania’s Program in Environmental Humanities. In 2021, they participated in the Montréal/Miami New Narratives Lab hosted by the National Film Board of Canada, O Cinema, MUTEK, and FilmGate Interactive. They also earned a Knight New Work 2020 award for their project Oil Ancestors, and a Miami Live Arts Lab Alliance residency to develop Metaphysical Hotline, a performance by telephone for an audience of one. Fereshteh’s project Water Radio: Liquid Intelligence is a series of contemplative canoe and kayak outings supported by The Ellies Creator Award.

Fereshteh is an Associate Professor in the digital area of the Art and Art History Department of the College of Communication, Architecture, and the Arts at Florida International University in Miami. Before joining the faculty at FIU, Fereshteh held a full-time teaching appointment at Columbia College Chicago, the Ford Foundation Faculty Fellowship in Arts and Civil Engagement at Syracuse University, and Visiting Assistant Professor appointments at Saint Mary’s College of Maryland and Frostburg State University, among others.

Documentation of Fereshteh’s artwork and creative research is available at http://fereshteh.net and at http://oilancestors.com

The Crude Medium is a playful, interactive experience about the cultural significance of oil. This live-action role play (LARP) séance is haunted by fossil spirits, ocean garbage, oil tycoons, snails, and coral, among others. The Crude Medium holds space for participants to imagine themselves as future ancestors to a post-oil culture. How do we learn from the past and what is our responsibility to future generations? How can constructing an alternative narrative serve as a dress rehearsal for actual changes we can make in our lives?

Dr. Shardé M. Davis (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Faculty Affiliate of various research institutes at the University of Connecticut. Her research examines the way Black women leverage communication in the sistah circle to invoke collective identity, erect and fortify the boundaries around their homeplace, and backfill the necessary resources to return to white/male dominant spaces in American society. These ideas have been published in over 50 peer-refereed articles and invited book chapters, and are best represented in her theory, “The Strong Black Woman Collective.”

Her research was formally recognized with the 2018 American Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Association of University Women and the 2019 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. In addition to her program of research, Dr. Davis created the viral Twitter Hashtag #BlackintheIvory, which extended a timely opportunity for Blackademic TRUTHtellers to share personal instances (and engage in necessary conversations) about anti-Black racism in academia. She is also the inaugural recipient of the 2021-2022 Faculty of Color Working Group Fellowship funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to edit a new book, Being Black in the Ivory: Truth Telling about Racism in Higher Education (University of North Carolina Press, 2024).

The Sabbath Project (TSP) is envisioned as an all-encompassing tool that re-imagines a future where Black/women faculty have access to the hidden curriculum and use the information to, first, take a sabbatical and, second, design a sabbatical plan that meets university guidelines and the faculty person’s needs and desires. TSP serves as a formative and practical tool that contributes to a more just future for a group of scholars who have been historically relegated to the margins.

The Speculative Play and Just Futurities (SPJF) program leverages narrative storytelling and creative world-building in speculative writing and design, including science fiction, fantasy, gaming, and new digital media like virtual reality, to challenge oppression and reimagine our world. It focuses on creating forums for discussing and theorizing literature to envision just futures. Central to SPJF is a residency for emerging scholars and creators, fostering intellectual and creative growth. SPJF also hosts weekly colloquia for students and faculty, featuring resident interactions and collaborative learning opportunities.

Speculative Play and Just Futurities is made possible through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation. SPJF is a collaboration between the IU Indianapolis Arts and Humanities Institute, the Center for Africana Studies and Culture, and the Ray Bradbury Center. Learn more about the SPJF residency by visiting our website: https://www.spjf.org/.