Ocean Futurisms: DSA screenings

Ocean Futurisms: DSA screenings

Wednesday, 25th March 2026

6:30-8pm

RSA House, Durham Street Auditorium

The world’s oceans are under unprecedented threat. From climate change and plastic pollution to overfishing and deep-sea mining, human activity is driving habitat loss and destabilising marine ecosystems.

This event brings together artist filmmaker Emma Critchley’s short film with the speculative visions of , creating a space to reflect on the current state of our seas today - and to imagine what might come next.

Common Heritage responds to the accelerating “gold rush” for rare earth minerals on the ocean floor. Through research-led storytelling, Critchley exposes how reverberant histories of extraction and industrialisation shape our relationship with the deep sea, raising vital questions about governance, responsibility, and the idea of the ocean as a shared inheritance.

Building on this exploration of present-day ocean politics, Ocean Futurisms extends the conversation into speculative futures. Created by Inferstudio, a digital worldbuilding and investigative design studio, the films blend scientific research with speculative storytelling to explore ocean governance, marine resources, and preservation - offering three science-based visions of the future: cautionary, hopeful, and urgent.

We’ll be screening:

• Common Heritage - An urgent response to deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals, examining how industrial extraction reshapes our understanding of the ocean as common heritage.
• M.A.N.A - A future ocean noise analyst works within a new alliance of island nations reshaping ocean governance.
• Havsrå - An activist network live-streams direct action to disrupt illegal deep-sea mining.
• Matsya - Ancient flood myths are reimagined as a roaming vessel seeks to protect endangered species, cultures, and communities.

The screenings will be followed by a panel conversation and audience Q&A on ocean policy, climate justice, activism, interdisciplinary collaboration, storytelling and marine protection.

Speakers:

• Dr Aline da Silva Cerqueira, Affiliated Researcher and Conservation Scientist, Department of Geography, King’s College London, and Member of the UK National Ocean Decade Committee
• Dr Sean Chen, Research Associate in Oceanic Blue Carbon, Imperial College London
• Nathan Su, Director, Inferstudio, and Associate Lecturer, Royal College of Art
• Emma Critchley, Artist

Chair:

• Bethany Edgoose, Co-Founder, Inferstudio, and Associate Lecturer, School of Architecture, Royal College of Art

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), 8 John Adam Street, London, United Kingdom

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