The Future Library project is a public artwork that aims to collect an original work by a popular writer every year from 2014 to 2114. The works will remain unread and unpublished until 2114. One thousand trees were specially planted for the project in the Nordmarka forest at its inception; the 100 manuscripts will be printed in limited-edition anthologies using paper made from the trees. The Guardian has referred to it as "the world's most secretive library".
History
The project was conceived by Katie Paterson during the summer of 2014. It is managed by the Future Library Trust and supported by the City of Oslo, Norway. It was produced for the Slow Space public art program and commissioned by Bjørvika, Oslo's former container port, and its development corporation. The manuscripts will be held in a specially designed room at the new Deichman Library currently under construction in Bjørvika, Oslo. The 'Silent Room' where the manuscripts are to be kept will be built using wood from the original trees felled to make way for the trees planted for the project. Katie Paterson has been working with the architectural team to design this part of the new public library. The collected works will be on display but the manuscripts will not be available for reading. One thousand certificates entitling the holder to the full 100-work anthology when published in 2114 are being sold by the artist's galleries: Ingleby Gallery, James Cohan Gallery and Parafin. Initially sold for £625, the price increased to £800 in 2017. The certificates, double-sided and printed on hand-made paper, depict a cross section of a tree with 100 tree-rings symbolising the time period for the project.
Critical reception
The Future Library project has been generally met with interest and intrigue by the media, though it has attracted criticism from some for its emphasis on preventing readership between 2014 and 2114. Writing for Flavorwire, Moze Halperin called the project "art whose intention is to exclude a few generations" and criticized the class exclusivity planned for the works even after they are released.
Contributors
The identity of each contributing author is announced yearly around October; they then submit their manuscripts to the collection the following spring at a public 'handover ceremony' in the forest where the trees are growing. Current contributors to the collection are:
2016 – Sjón, As My Brow Brushes On The Tunics Of Angels or The Drop Tower, the Roller Coaster, the Whirling Cups and other Instruments of Worship from the Post-Industrial Age, submitted 2 June 2017
The Future Library Trust's committee of trustees make a new selection annually based on the criteria "outstanding contributions to literature or poetry, and for their work's ability to capture the imagination of this and future generations." Umberto Eco and Tomas Tranströmer, both deceased as of 2016, were previously considered as potential contributors. All other authors approached by Paterson have accepted the invitation.
