Make Art with Purpose:
The World We Want to Create
In The World We Want to Create, Make Art with Purpose (MAP) is collaborating with students from CityLab and IDEA High Schools in Dallas to imagine, through speculative futures, the world they want to live in. A foundational part of the project is helping students develop and apply critical thinking skills to analyze current societal, technological, and environmental challenges, fostering a sense of agency and ownership over the outcomes of our shared future.
In design workshops, students are using traditional skills such as research, brainstorming, sketching, and reflection to create designs that communicate their ideas for the future. These designs will become banners displayed in Halperin Park throughout November 2026. They will then be animated and projected at the AURORA Biennial on November 21.
The animation is led by MAP team members Arman Eshtiaghi and Muhammad Farid, both graduate students at the University of Texas at Dallas. MAP’s project for Aurora will also feature an interactive component inviting the public to share their visions for the future of their city and the world.
The World We Want to Create was conceived by designer and educator Mark Randall and Janeil Engelstad, founding director of Make Art with Purpose.
About the Artists
Make Art with Purpose (MAP) produces project-based work grounded in Human Centered Design that addresses social and environmental concerns throughout the world.
Valuing collaboration and knowledge across communities and disciplines, MAP projects include communities as partners in the production of the work, directly engage the audience to participate beyond the role of passive observer, and ignite creative collaboration with museums, schools, government, business, NGOs, and other partners.
MAP’s work includes large, multi-year projects with numerous partners and smaller programs such as film screenings, artist talks, performances, and workshops. Founded in San Francisco in 2010, MAP is now based in Dallas and Seattle, USA, with production hubs around the world.
