The Second Annual Marketplace of the Future DC!
Greetings!! ✨
After 9 consecutive years during Climate Week NYC, Marketplace of the Future (MOTF) is back for our SECOND annual event in DC — and we’re going even bigger.
First time here? Welcome.
The Marketplace of the Future is inspired by the 1939 New York World’s Fair, which imagined “The World of Tomorrow” through breakthrough innovations like the fluorescent light bulb, air-conditioning, and television. 🌍
We're here to show climate solutions in the same light - novel now, normal soon.
The 2026 MOTFxDC Activities Include:
🎬 Opening: Film Festival : We kick off with a curated climate film festival, grounding the day in storytelling, vision, and imagination.
Woven From Nature - 2:30pm
Black Soil Rising - 2:45pm
Reclaiming the Earth - 3:30pm
Water Keepers of the Desert - 4:00pm
Architects of the Earth - 4:30pm
Stewards of the Terraces
🖼️ Midday: Art + Exploration : Move through our art gallery, The Constellation, a self-guided art installation running throughout the entire event. Visual artists, photographers, illustrators, and mixed-media makers whose work touches on climate, community, ecology, and collective futures will be displayed
Midday: Panel Discussions , featuring leaders across climate, culture, and community. Expect conversations on mental health, storytelling, urban design, circular economies, and urban agriculture.
Exhibition Hall : 15+ curated exhibitors showcasing real climate solutions across energy, food, fashion, and beyond, alongside DMV-based makers and wellness brands :)
🌇 Golden Hour: We transition into Future Proof, our evening program where The Constellation (art installation) comes alive. Guests will walk and mingle with all of our artists. We will close off with an EARTHGANG Foundation open bar, music, and local art.
🎤 Panel Highlights
• From Climate Anxiety to Wild Hope
• Women of Color Storytelling + Film Screening
• DC Urban Design: Is DC a 15-Minute City?
• Circular Economies, Communities & Art
• From Ground to Table: Urban Agriculture in the DMV
🎨 Activations
• Upcycling Corner — All day drop-in, hands-on creative reuse station anchored by Makeba's Muse. Multiple stations where guests can make things, learn things, and engage with circular fashion and material reuse. Includes a fabric dyeing station and denim corner.
• Letter to Earth Workshop — Paired with the Uphold Roots: Through our Own Lens panel. Attendees write their own letters to the earth as a reflective creative exercise. (4:15 PM Intro)
• Life-Size DC Metro Map — A walk-on, life-size replica of the DC Metro map used as an interactive activation. Paired with the Urban Design panel and open all day. (3:15 PM Intro)
• DIY Hydroponics Demo — (3:15 PM) A live demo led by Glenn Hall, showing attendees how to build a simple system with low-cost materials.
• Yoga — (5:15 PM) A grounding wellness activation led by Alyssa-Jade .
• Dance Church Session — (3:00 PM) a free, joyful movement experience open to all
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Panel Details......
1. From Climate Anxiety to Wild Hope (3:15 PM): Explores the intersection of climate change and mental health -- eco-anxiety, grief, resilience, and finding hope in the face of environmental crisis.
2. Uphold Roots: Through our Own Lens + (4:15 PM): Centers women of color doing frontline climate storytelling. Paired with a short film screening, Black Soil Rising. Plays at 2:45pm
3. DC Urban Design: Is DC a 15-Minute City? (5:15 PM): Examines what it really means to design a healthy, climate-resilient city and whether DC is on track -- with a focus on equity, displacement, and who urban planning actually serves.
4. Circular Economies, Communities & Art (6:15 PM): A conversation about who is actually building circular economies on the ground, who benefits, and what it looks like when it's rooted in community rather than just trend.
5. From Ground to Table: Urban Agriculture in the DMV (7:30 PM): Brings together people building DC's urban farming ecosystem -- from vacant lot farms to mutual aid food networks -- to talk about food sovereignty, climate resilience, and community health
DC Climate Week is not responsible for this event. It is organized by the organizing group, and being listed on the DCCW calendar is not an endorsement of content or partners.
Finally, a HUGE thank you to our top sponsor Washington Area Community Investment Fund!