THE SPECTACLE
May 14, 2026
THE SPECTACLE was what happens when futures thinking refuses to stay theoretical.
May 14, 2026. A modern space right off the Chicago River. Six sessions ranging from practical foresight frameworks to live jazz improvisation to hands-on creative disruption. The kind of event where keynotes turn into workshops, where a jazz band becomes a working model for collaboration, and where the insights generated in the room prove more valuable than anything you could have planned for.
We sold out. Our guests rated us 4.8 out of 5 on Luma. The performers were extraordinary. The insights were electric. The conversations spilled into the hallways and kept going long after we turned off the lights.
Below, watch the sessions that made it work.
Thank you to our sponsors: CGI, Mural, and ElevenLabs. And to our network partners—1871 and Parlor Social—for making ambitious experiments like this possible.
WELCOME
Anna Mulcahy, Board of Directors
The story of how the Salon came together and what it exists to do.
KEYNOTE — CHARLES PLATH
From Anticipation to Preparation: Designing for a More Resilient Today
A practical, step-by-step approach to foresight. Framing a research question, scanning signals, mapping critical uncertainties, and building scenarios that help you make more resilient decisions today.
WORKSHOP — MIKE HYZY AND MICHAEL MARSHALL
Artistic Disruption for Business Innovation
A hands-on session applying Surrealist and Situationist creative techniques to futures thinking and business strategy. Participants work through a series of provocations designed to break habitual thinking patterns and generate creative business ideas that shift the paradigm.
Want to try the provocations yourself? Explore our collection of creative tools designed to disrupt conventional thinking.
Explore ProvocationsCHICAGO 2040 READOUT
Marta Cuciurean-Zapan and Max Lackner from IDEO
Findings from our December scenarios exercise and what comes next for the work.
JAZZ AS A MODEL FOR HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS
Jim Kalbach
Jim Kalbach, Chief Evangelist at Mural and author of The Jobs to Be Done Playbook, brings a live jazz band on stage to explore what improvisation teaches us about teamwork: listening, adapting, making space, building on others' ideas, and staying aligned in motion. Thirty minutes. Live music. A working model for better collaboration.
FORESIGHT IMPROV
Matt Carmichael with Alexandra Levit and Michael Marshall
An interactive foresight session where professional futurists speculate on emerging futures through improv techniques and real-time audience input. Collaborative, fast-paced, and unpredictable.