Parallel Presents

Parallel Presents is a participatory and creative methodology for creating positive visions of sustainable worlds that can be used in diverse settings to generate fresh ideas and a shared sense of hope and possibility.

Parallel Presents was created by Professor Amy Twigger Holroyd at Nottingham School of Art & Design.

Use Parallel Presents

Parallel Presents is structured in three stages: writing, prototyping and enacting. Instructions are available for each stage, and can be adapted to suit the context in terms of focus, duration and format.

We encourage you to use these materials to organise your own Parallel Presents activities. If you do, please let us know! Information about how the methodology has been used is incredibly helpful in reporting on the impact of the project and securing further funding.

  • Stage 1: writing

    This activity invites you to write a 100-word outline of a fictional parallel world in which people live more sustainably.

  • Stage 2: prototyping

    This activity asks you to create a visual or material prototype to represent everyday life in a fictional world.

  • Stage 3: enacting

    This activity invites you to enact a practice or event from a fictional world as a way of experiencing an alternative system in which people live more sustainably.

From this process, I take inspiration to continue creating change and keep modelling what’s possible.