2050. a brief history of the future

The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the Louvre Museum come together to present an ambitious and innovative project inspired by Jacques Attali's essay A Brief History of the Future. The two independent yet complementary exhibitions are articulated around the same questioning. By interrogating the future - at the Louvre by an observation of the past, in Brussels by a prospective approach - they analyse the great dynamics that cross and animate societies, from their origins up to the horizon of 2050. The exhibition at the Louvre aims to project itself into the future based on a subjective reading of the past, pictured and shaped by the artistic creations from the previous millennia. On their side, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium hinge on the topicality of current artistic creations in order to question a series of societal themes - from globalisation to the commodification of time, from overconsumption to the wellbeing of the planet.
These topics will be addressed through contemporary creations by major international artists such as Sugimoto, Boetti, Kingelez, Warhol, LaChapelle, Gursky, Op de Beeck, Yongliang, Turk, Alÿs and many others. Through these artworks that transcend the big societal questions, the visitors are invited to reflect on the future they are supposed to shape.