Coherences

Chicago · October 12–14, 2026

A more coherent Midwest is possible.

We welcome you to join us and 40–50 doers, shakers, movers, dancers, artists, storytellers, dreamers, entrepreneurs, investors, world builders, and healers to reimagine the Midwest and the future of a care economy.

Our vision is a flowing together of great humans, drawn by the importance of this moment in history, our creative capacity to imagine the future we all want and then make it happen. Our intention is to step outside the current frame; to be fully present; to co-create the conditions for spontaneous cooperation; and discover concrete, collaborative actions for implementation in 2027.

Coherences is a series of independent events coinciding with SOCAP (the Social Capital Markets Conference) as it convenes for its 19th year, and in the Midwest for the first time. The Midwest has become strategically consequential. Whether it rises, stagnates, or fractures will tell us a great deal about what kind of country the United States becomes in the decade ahead. With close colleagues and friends, we are using this moment to seed:

• A trust-based network that integrates the impact/innovation field with a socially cohesive and creative culture that bridges silos, invents necesary infrastructure and frames new narratives that unify us.
• A true integration of impact and creative culture that connects silos of action, re-imagines how capital aggregates and deploys funds, and opens a portal for the mainstream adoption of a regenerative economy.
• Bold, imaginative and readily accesible pathways for humanity to stand up for the moment we are in.

The physicist and philosopher David Bohm described coherence as the state of being integrated, harmonious, and undivided. The word comes from the Latin cohaerere, “to stick together.” Bohm believed people could think and work together without fragmentation when they listen without prejudice, create in common, and build on each other’s ideas. That is the intention we bring to Chicago - creating the conditions for a new cohesive culture to emerge - one that unleashes creativity and empathy and centers the new economy on meaning, care and joy!

Obama Presidential Center Tour · Monday, Oct 12. 3:30pm - 10pm.
A tour of the grounds of the presidential center and its bold vision for a more equitable tomorrow. Includes transportation to the Center and back to our Protopia Salon in the Downtown Loop for cocktails in our Protopia Lounge. Space is limited.

A Journey on the Chicago River · Tuesday, Oct 13. 4:30-11pm.
A 90-minute chartered river immersion co-narrated by Friends of the Chicago River, the only organization dedicated to restoring the Chicago-Calumet River system. Through story, guided observation, peer dialogue, and reflection, we will read the river as a living system and explore what its patterns reveal about adaptation, relationship, stewardship, and collective action. Cocktails follow at our Protopia Lounge in the Downtown Loop. Hosted by Friends of the Chicago River, Mercedes Martin & Co., One Thriving Planet and SOCAP.

IMAGINAL: Coherences 2036 · Wednesday, Oct 14, 9 AM–late evening.
A day of immersive participatory future building, scenario planning and live backcasting. In the morning we step into character as leaders meeting at Coherences 2036. By midday we're designing cross-sector initiatives for a 2036 Council Assembly. By afternoon we are integrating future concepts into real pilots, coalitions, and resource commitments in 2027. Hosted by beaming Future Architecture and Tony Patrick, Bruce & Bisi Mau.

Most importantly we take the time to meet incredible leaders across disciplines, deepen relationships with friends and colleagues, meet, work, talk, and play. Enjoy cocktails together and evenings of music and conversation at our Protopia Lounge nestled into the city skyline, culminating Wednesday evening with live Chicago Blues. The full agenda is below.

• Scientists and business leaders co-creating a regional supply chain for critical materials in the Midwest that will create 10,000 jobs
• Artists and designers fluent in technology who understand the dynamics of massive change and transformation
• Impact investors who manage billions of dollars
• Producers of large public immersive experiences that help everyday citizens imagine the future they want to see
• Innovators working with youth to world-build the future of community-centered mental health
• Technologists engineering compute arranged in nodes to power entrepreneurial ecosystems at 1/10 the footprint of mainstream data centers
• Founders of venture capital organizations investing in people of color
• Entrepreneurs listening to thousands of community members and gathering their insights into a repository of “Ancestral Intelligence”

• Day Pass: Monday ($100), Tuesday ($200), or Wednesday ($200)
• All-Access Pass, $500: all three days
• Pay What You Wish (All-Access): for anyone able to contribute more than $500 to help cover the costs of the gathering

Space is very limited. We are experimenting and prototyping, and you are among the first. Venues and other details will be shared with registered guests ahead of the gathering.

We invite you to become part of our Founding Member Circle ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, with visibility across signature experiences and direct involvement in how the work grows across the Midwest and beyond. To explore Membership, contact [email protected].

Learn more at coherences.org.

Info: Monday afternoon. A facilitated tour of the Obama Presidential Grounds and their bold vision for a more equitable tomorrow. Includes transportation to the Center and back to Protopia Lounge in the Downtown Loop for cocktails; space is limited.

Info: Join us after hours on the patio for drinks, light snacks, conversation, and a live DJ. Enjoy meeting incredible leaders across disciplines immersed in the Chicago skyline.

Info: Tuesday late afternoon. A 90-minute chartered immersion on the Chicago River, co-narrated by Friends of the Chicago River. Navigating the currents of the river and the way we lead: through story, guided observation, peer dialogue, and reflection, we'll read the river as a living system and explore what its patterns reveal about adaptation, relationship, stewardship, and collective action.

Info: An unhurried space where we stay together, share food, and let the experience settle. The boat will drop us off at the dinner.

Info: Join us after hours on the patio for drinks, light snacks, conversation and music. Enjoy meeting incredible leaders across disciplines immersed in the Chicago skyline.

Info: We cross the threshold into 2036, stepping into character as stewards of planetary wealth funds, bioregional commons, tech collectives, and civic councils. Grounded in ancestral intelligence, deep time, and storytelling, we set the foundation and hear lightning dispatches from the 2036 landscape.

Info: Midday, including lunch. Working in cross-sector pods (spanning capital, critical infrastructure, and civic imagination) we draft collaborative responses to systemic challenges. Over an in-character working lunch and trade floor, teams negotiate shared initiatives and pitch them to the full 2036 Council.

Info: The roleplay drops. We reveal who we are today in 2026, unpack what emerged during our 2036 experiences and backcast our fictional alliances into real commitments, identifying immediate capital sources, testbeds, and partnerships to build now. We close with a grounding circle and concrete next steps.

Info: Live Chicago Blues from 9 PM until late with old and new friends.

Event venue & nearby stays

Venue to be announced, Address shared with registered guests, Chicago, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

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