Two of tonight's sessions, Artistic Disruption and Foresight Improv, were hits at SXSW 2026. They are bringing the success in Austin to their hometown of Chicago.

Also - we’ll have some next generation tech demos from our sponsors about the future of voice agents; collaboration and creativity.

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THE LINEUP

3:00 · Welcome Anna Mulcahy, Board of Directors, Chicago Futures Salon. The story of how the Salon came together and what it exists to do.

3:15 · Keynote — Charles Plath From Anticipation to Preparation: Designing for a More Resilient Today. A practical, step-by-step approach to foresight. Framing a research question, scanning signals, mapping critical uncertainties, and building scenarios that help you make more resilient decisions today.

3:45 · Workshop Setup

4:00 · Workshop — Mike Hyzy and Michael Marshall Artistic Disruption for Business Innovation. A hands-on session applying Surrealist and Situationist creative techniques to futures thinking and business strategy. Participants work through a series of provocations designed to break habitual thinking patterns and generate creative business ideas that shift the paradigm.

5:00 · Chicago 2040 Readout - Marta Cuciurean-Zapan and Max Lackner from IDEO deliver the findings from our December scenarios exercise and what comes next for the work.

5:30 · Jim Kalbach — JTBD with a Live Jazz Band Jim Kalbach, Head of Customer Experience at Mural and author of The Jobs to Be Done Playbook, runs JTBD alongside a live jazz band. Thirty minutes. One of a kind.

6:00 · Foresight Improv — Matt Carmichael An interactive foresight session where professional futurists speculate on emerging futures through improv techniques and real-time audience input. Collaborative, fast-paced, and unpredictable.

7:00 · Closing

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Food, drinks, and networking run in a separate room. Come and go throughout the evening.

TICKETS · General admission: $15 · Suggested contribution: $25

SPONSORS: ElevenLabs | Mural | CGI | Parlor Social

Network Supporters: 1871 & The Executives Club of Chicago

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All ticket revenue is a tax-deductible donation to the Chicago Futures Salon, a 509(a)(2) public charity.

Foresight. Creativity. Community.

Location

Chicago

IL, USA