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FUTUR.SHOCK: AT THE INTERSECTION OF EXPERIMENTAL ART AND NIGHTLIFE



The next chapter of Futur.Shock, FOLD nightclub's multi-disciplinary not-for-profit arts platform, has just been announced and will take place on March 20th. We caught up with Karolina Magnusson Murray, who runs Futur.Shock, to find out more about the unique event that showcases contemporary art in a club setting.




Could you tell us a bit about yourself, Karolina?

 

Over the last few years, a lot of my creative energy has been channelled into Futur.Shock and FOLD, which has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I don’t like labelling myself as a curator or an artist exclusively—I simply do what feels necessary and right for my creativity at the time. Building Futur.Shock has allowed me to focus on fostering a community and creating opportunities for others while learning to value the process of supporting creative ecosystems beyond just making work for myself.


That said, I am looking forward to finishing some personal moving image work that I’ve had on the back burner for a while. It’s definitely a challenge to make ends meet as an artist or curator in London these days, especially when you’re working in disciplines that don’t fit neatly into commercial models. But I’m passionate about contributing to a culture where progressive and experimental energy can thrive in any form that works, not just through the work we produce.


As for my background, I grew up in the Essex countryside, just outside London. My parents are from abroad, and my Dad died when I was really young, so I’ve always had a sense of navigating between different worlds and unsure of where I belong. After school, I wanted to get away from where I grew up, so I studied Art Foundation at Leeds College of Art and Design, followed by Interdisciplinary Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University. After graduating, I completed an artist residency in Colombia, which led me to live there for a few years. When I returned to the UK, I pursued my MA at the Royal College of Art in Painting, where I was part of the first cohort for Moving Image and Performance Art, now known as Contemporary Art Practice.





How did Futur.Shock come about? 


Growing up, I was immersed in performance, theatre, and music—I played the accordion and painted and made things all the time. I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with whatever medium made sense for an idea, whether it was making experimental documentaries, painting, or performance.


My involvement in electronic music and nightlife has also been a huge influence.

Since leaving school, I’ve worked in music venues and clubs, from clubs in Nottingham, to big house parties with bands, DJs, and immersive installations, to free parties and later working at Fabric. These experiences shaped my trajectory, friendships, my perspective on making work, and my sense of community. Over time, my passion for electronic music and experimental art began to feel naturally connected, even if I didn’t consciously set out to merge them.


When FOLD began, it felt like the perfect space to bring these ideas together. Seb, one of the co-founders of FOLD, is a long-term friend, and we talked about introducing contemporary art into the idea. Once joining the team and meeting Lasha the other co-founder and creative director, ideas started to align. When the club opened, it felt like a fresh and exciting opportunity to experiment. We started with an Arts Council-funded group exhibition and performance program that allowed us to test ideas and explore what might be possible. From there, we slowly built Futur.Shock into what it is today.



During COVID, we expanded into the digital realm, showcasing contemporary art, experimental music videos, and moving image works that sit at the intersection of art and music. That period taught us a lot about how these disciplines could coexist and evolve together.


Futur.Shock was also shaped by my frustrations with traditional art spaces. After leaving RCA and focusing on performance art, I often felt galleries lacked the infrastructure or the right context for the kind of work I wanted to make. At FOLD, we’ve been able to explore something different—moving beyond white walls and institutional critiques to create a more dynamic and inclusive environment for interdisciplinary work.


It hasn’t always been easy, especially on the ground, the practical and financial difficulties of merging club culture with the art world, have been the most challenging. As audiences evolve and cultural conversations shift, it’s becoming more natural. The last five or six years have been a challenge, but they’ve also been incredibly rewarding. For me, Futur.Shock is about developing a platform for experimentation and freedom where music, raw energy, performance, and digital art can not only coexist but thrive together - without boundaries - in new and unexpected ways.

 



You’ve mentioned that Futur.Shock aims to be an anti-institutional space. Can you expand on this idea? How does it differ from more traditional venues or exhibitions?

 

Futur.Shock was born from a desire to move away from the rigidity of traditional art institutions and white-wall spaces, which can sometimes feel restrictive and disconnected from broader, more inclusive cultural practices. My personal practice has always engaged with institutional critique, questioning these systems and their limitations. FOLD offered an opportunity to explore these ideas in a completely different context—one that feels raw, artist-led, and deeply rooted in collaboration and experimentation.


When FOLD was first built, there was a real DIY energy. Lasha, one of the founders, literally built the space from the ground up, supported by the team, friends and collaborators from diverse disciplines. This ethos—artist-led and resourceful—was something I was immediately drawn to. It felt like a place where we could create something progressive, meaningful and unconventional, free from the rules that often govern more traditional venues.


Futur.Shock, is about harnessing that energy and creating a platform that allows for multi-genre experimentation. The 24-hour license, and immersive environment, opens up possibilities that traditional venues rarely offer - like hosting performance art at 6am or creating site-specific work that responds to the space’s unique atmosphere. It’s about asking: What happens when you give artists the freedom and infrastructure of a club setting to develop their ideas? What kinds of new works and audiences, and community can emerge from this context?



This isn’t about creating art that’s “about” club culture—a theme that feels overdone and limiting—but rather about exploring what can come out of this intersection of art and nightlife. It’s a space for experimentation, where the usual hierarchies between artist and audience are dismantled, and where artists from marginalised communities can feel empowered to create work on their own terms.


It’s not easy, though. The pressures of running events, managing ticket sales, and the general stress of operating in a club environment can be overwhelming. But the challenges are worth it because this kind of space fosters a sense of community, collaboration, and creative freedom that feels increasingly rare.


Futur.Shock also serves as a platform for left-field, avant-garde, and interdisciplinary projects, offering a home for ideas that might not fit neatly into traditional art or music venues. It’s about building something that reflects the changing culture and provides a new kind of infrastructure for artists to create without the constraints of institutional expectations.


Ultimately, Futur.Shock is a space where artists can explore, take risks, and push boundaries—not just within their own practice but within the larger cultural context. It’s an ongoing experiment, and while there are challenges, the potential for what can emerge from this environment makes it all worthwhile.





As Futur.Shock goes beyond club culture, how do you balance curating events without leaning too heavily on that theme, seeing as the night takes place at FOLD?

 

Futur.Shock has always aimed to go beyond the confines of "club culture". While the events are embedded within FOLD, which is undeniably a club environment, the goal has been to create a platform that prioritizes interdisciplinary experimentation, multi-sensory experiences, and bold artistic exploration. I don’t curate based on trends or expectations—I follow what feels right and resonates with the themes I’ve chosen for each season.




Each season of Futur.Shock is structured around a larger concept and broken into sub-themes, inspired by my love of sci-fi and a drive to explore psychological, political, and philosophical questions. For instance, Season Four delves into themes of transgression, intimacy, otherness, and metamorphosis. These ideas guide the selection of artists and performers, ensuring that their work challenges boundaries and offers something fresh to both the audience and the space.


For every chapter, I look for artists who push the boundaries of their medium, whether that’s experimental sound, performance art, or visual installations. It’s important to me that we’re not simply recreating “club culture” narratives but using the space to ask: What happens when artists are given the infrastructure and resources of a club, but not bound by its typical expectations? This freedom often inspires work that feels site-specific, transcendent, raw and unexpected.


The upcoming chapter reflects this philosophy. I don’t want to give much away but this one focuses on fusing metal, punk, and electronic noise modular synths, and dystopian soundscapes, and offer performances that defy conventional genres. These choices aim to engage audiences with a visceral, multi-sensory experience that merges contemporary art with avant-garde music.




At its core, Futur.Shock is a space for collaboration, growth, and questioning. It’s also a response to the “dizzying disorientation” of modern life—what Alvin Toffler called "Future Shock". This theme underpins much of the project, inviting artists to reflect on the accelerating pace of societal, cultural, and technological change. The result is not just an event series but a constantly evolving dialogue that spans disciplines, generations, and perspectives.


Balancing these elements isn’t always easy, especially within a club setting, but that tension is part of what makes it so rewarding. Futur.Shock isn’t about escape; it’s about immersion, experimentation, and reimagining what’s possible when art and music collide in a space that breaks the rules.

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