At FTI Hasselt and FTI Antwerp, two festivals exploring technology and innovation, Pieterjan Ginckels invites you to a game of SOLAR HOOP.

SOLAR HOOP is a conversation piece: how can we work together to transform climate fear into climate empathy? What energy is created in the city, which is difficult to capture in incubators and startups? Both on and off a collaboratively designed 3X3 basketball court we explore the interaction between the energy of younger generations (LOCAL FUN) and their big questions and fears about climate change (GLOBAL WORRIES).

The lifestyle of the techno-optimistic elite with Elon Musk as a figurehead contrasts with the world of millennials and Gen Z youngsters who will experience the full effect of our energy and climate catastrophes. Their concrete visions of the future contain few of the late 20th-century status symbols and perspectives, which for the time being seem to determine the framework for innovation.
What innovations do we really expect? Who offers an answer to our/their insecurities? Is there a way to create optimism for the future, and what happens when we develop new future scenarios and imaginaries, together with our local youngsters?

To explore these questions, Ginckels has developed a sculptural basketball hoop, a contrary prototype that explores the smart-dumb spectrum. You can play this SOLAR HOOP on a streetball court created for the festival. The lines on the court are atypical: enlarged diagrams, reflections and ideas that Ginckels realized with local youth during workshops at the Hasselt FTI festival.
Ginckels and his team will also open the WEARABLE CONCLUSIONS LAB, an exhibition space where you may be inspired to cook up your own visions and wishes for the future. We will design graphic identities to our statements, oneliners and icons that ultimately end up on self-made basketball jerseys.

To get as many young people as possible to think and design while playing basketball, a real 3X3 tournament is being organised, where both amateurs and experienced ballers can compete for the SOLAR HOOP CUP, coached by the newly crowned Belgian cup winners of HUBO Limburg United, Belgian Lion Jean -Marc Mwema, ànd Belgian Cat and Belgian CUP finals MVP Heleen Nauwelaers.

Whether you are young or young at heart, you are welcome to contribute to this futures-experiment. Therefore, put together a team, fabricate a wearable conclusion on a basketball shirt in the lab, and participate in the 3X3 events on the freshly painted basketball court.

FTI Hasselt
Location: De Sportschool + Elfde-Liniestraat, Hasselt
Activities:
Open WEARABLE CONCLUSIONS LAB: March 17 - 20, 5 PM - 10 PM.
SOLAR HOOP 3X3 friendly games + shooting contest hosted by HUBO Limburg United: March 17, 5 PM - 8 PM.
SOLAR HOOP CUP tournament: March 20, 5 PM - 10 PM.

More info: FTI Hasselt
Register here: https://www.tournify.nl/live/solarhoopcup

FTI Antwerp
Location: Sportpaleis, Antwerp
Activities: March 23 - 24, 10 AM - 6 PM
Open WEARABLE CONCLUSIONS LAB.
SOLAR HOOP 3X3 pickup games with guests.
Exhibition of GLOBAL WORRIES LOCAL FUN basketball court.
More info: FTI Antwerp

Commissioned by FTI festival and VITO
Production assistance by Waldo De Roo, Simon Breynart and Oscar D'Erbee.
Workshop production with Axelle Smekens and Simon Breynaert.
Supported by HUBO Limburg United, Hasselt BT, De Sportschool and HAST.
The SOLAR HOOP concept was developed with initial support of GLUON during the S+T+ARTS (Science, Technology, Arts) programme of the European Commission DG Connect, within the framework of Horizon 2020le
SOLAR HOOP is a forerunner for a larger research initiative at the KU Leuven Architecture Department: get in touch at pieterjan.ginckels@kuleuven.be