Madeleine
Schwinge

Madeleine Schwinge is a futurist, educator, curator and artist. Her practice unfolds at the intersection of art in context and future design.

A passionate systems thinker with a focus on socio-cultural change, she builds holistic worlds that transcend media and sectors, combining artistic, curatorial, educational and advisory projects.

In 2020, she founded the re:future lab, a laboratory for free thinking, dialogue, research and knowledge dissemination on the pressing issues of our time: climate change, artificial intelligence, political and cultural frictions.

Madeleine helps people and organizations in business, creative industries and academia to unfold innovative visions, to navigate uncertainty and to design alternative futures.

With more than twenty years of experience in strategic consulting and serial entrepreneurship, combined with a solid background in the visual arts, she is a sought-after speaker and facilitator in the areas of change and undogmatic strategies.

Madeleine holds a degree in Economics (DHBW Baden-Württemberg, Duale Hochschule Stuttgart), certificates in Curation and Fine Arts (Berlin University of the Arts), studied Art History (Freie Universität Berlin) and is a certified Systemic Coach.

She has been engaged with the World Future Studies Federation (a UNESCO partner) and the Society for Artistic Research Germany since 2021. She was a member of the Ogilvy Futuring Science and Ethics Advisory Board in 2022 and has been a founding member of the Berlin Design Network e.v. since 2023. Moreover, she teaches as a guest lecturer at HTW Berlin (Master of System Design, Department of Culture and Design) since 2023.

The pinnacle of her work to date can be seen in the manifestation of HOLITOPIA: a pragmatic utopia in a state of constant flux, and a space for collectively designing immediate futures. HOLITOPIA forms the programmatic scope of her practice, out of which emerged the award-winning HOLITOPIA Festival for Arts and Futures. It will take place for the second time in September 2024 in Berlin.