The Future isn t what it used to be. No one believes any longer in The F~

destination to which the present will inevitably deliver us. But with the d~

Future, we have become curious about the possible futures germinating In 1~i

and it is this that animates the ICA. It could hardly be otherwise, with the ran~

and the mixing and matching of them that go on here. ::~~

It s also the guiding spirit of this exhibition that sets out - through the prt~

to sustain and develop premise, rather than simply reward achievement. ~:

It s a convention of a preface to say that the exhibition has been a eollabol

venture. In this instance, it s more than a mere gesture. We should like to thal~

more than fifty nominators who began the process of selection; and the ju~

collaborative generosity across three days gave the exhibition the identity Rill

outgoing Director of Exhibitions, Emma Dexter, chaired the judges panel andi

appropriate to thank her for her work- not over three days, but over the last ni

The various members of the Beck s team have entered fully, with open mb~

the complex dialogue that brought the exhibition into being; the ICA team,

Curator, Susan Copping, the Exhibition Co-ordinator Brendan Caylor and

Assistant November Paynter, who kept their nerve and intelligence admirabl~U

the complex process. If Beck s Futures has a future then, in the end, it s the arli!

will deserve the credit - it is they who are taking the real risk - and I thank them)

all, for the art. i