May 2025
Speculative Fantasy
A new series by Nato Thompson
Nato Thompson, Speculative Museum, 2024
Speculative Fiction is a term you’ll find in literary circles, typically referring to conceptual “what ifs” about the future, rooted in science fiction. But that particular vision of the future—one dominated by technology, devices, and sleek interfaces—doesn’t entirely appeal to me.
Instead, I prefer Speculative Fantasy.
While a few have used the phrase to distinguish so-called highbrow fantasy from the pulpier stuff, I’d never want my work mistaken for anything not lowbrow. There’s too much joy in trashy fantasy—dragons, portals, amulets, all of it.
I use Speculative Fantasy as an umbrella: not just to imagine future possibilities, but to conjure futures and pasts haunted by the myths and legends that shape who we are—our past, our present, and what we might yet become. Yes, I’m invoking Walter Benjamin. He’s relevant here. His reading of Paul Klee’s Angelus Novus—an angel blown backwards into the future, eyes locked on the wreckage of the past—offers a perfect image. As we move through time, I'm interested in the myths that construct our understanding of the world and how they echo forward.
This series will explore those myths—with the help of writers, artists, culture-makers, and, naturally, a few angels.
— Nato Thompson
Nato Thompson, Speculative Museums, 2024
Nato Thompson is a curator, author, and cultural strategist based in New York and Philadelphia, known for his influential work at the intersection of art, politics, and public engagement. A champion of socially engaged art, Thompson has held a curatorial role at MASS MoCA and was Chief Curator of Creative Time, where he produced landmark projects such as Kara Walker’s A Subtlety, Paul Chan’s Waiting for Godot, and Trevor Paglen’s The Last Pictures.
He is the Founder and Director of The Alternative Art School, an online global platform connecting visionary artists through accessible, artist-led education. Thompson is also the Founding Principal of Dreaming in Public an art consultancy. His writing has appeared in major publications including ArtForum, Huffington Post, and Art Journal, and he is the author of Seeing Power and Culture as Weapon.
Thompson holds degrees in Political Theory from UC Berkeley and Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He continues to work with leading contemporary artists and institutions to reimagine the role of art in shaping community and culture.