Local Techno Futures

The Local Techno Futures initiative is an ongoing exercise in imagining and rethinking the association between people, practices, and technology. It contests the predominant global narratives, which often centre Euro-American perspectives, by asking what technology might look like when its imaginations and implementations are rooted in local contexts. Working with the communities in Bidar, Channapatna, and Kundapura, the endeavour builds on the everyday experiences and creative practices of people often excluded from mainstream technological innovation. By highlighting the voices of creative practitioners and young adults, Local Techno Futures aims to co-develop tools, systems, and ideas that reflect the lived realities of these communities.

The program operates through three interconnected approaches. Residencies bring together fixed groups of participants over three months, encouraging deep collaboration around their practices. During this period, participants work on prototyping tools and create speculative artefacts that merge traditional methods with new possibilities. Workshop series, on the other hand, offers a more flexible structure, inviting a rotating set of participants to collectively imagine and build futures for their work through iterative learning. A living archive, curated by young archivists from the community, captures oral histories, narratives, and artifacts, creating a resource that reflects the evolution of local practices and their intersection with technology. Together, these approaches assure nurtured involvement and enable a space where learning and creativity flourish.