What is to be done? Even in a world that is better for more people than at any time in history, we find ourselves with a host of issues, challenging our optimism for the future. The specter of unchecked climate change, the unknown consequences of globally deployed artificial intelligence, the ruptured boundaries of global capitalism, the unrelenting weight of systemic oppression and inequality; these ills throw the grand narratives of linear progress and the promise of technology in doubt. How do we navigate in a semi-fluid world where the only hope for agency seems to be in probing the uncertain boundaries and bounded uncertainties themselves?

Now in its third edition, the Gray Area Festival still believes that artists are bellwethers to anticipate cultural traumas, and that integrated creative and technical practice holds a lantern illuminating paths to broader and deeper understanding of the trials and opportunities ahead. We present a group of speakers, performers, educators, and exhibitors exploring the edges of media, time, culture, design, and the environment. Held at our Grand Theater in San Francisco’s Mission district, the Festival highlights Gray Area’s continued pursuit of forward-looking art and technology applied toward civic, educational, entrepreneurial, aesthetic, and social practice.