Department of Dreamtime

The Department of Dreamtime was founded in 2019 as a reaction to Northern Ireland’s second Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NICCAP2).

Preliminary survey research stemming from the NICCAP2 suggested that Northern Ireland’s inhabitants have many worries relating to the ongoing climate crisis. Survey respondents reported a distinct inability to dream — either in a concrete or metaphysical sense, leading to feelings dislocation, or being ‘unstuck’ from time.

It appears that people have limited capacity to properly think about, or imagine, a future beyond the ever-present, eschatological dilemma of a ‘hothouse earth’.

As a direct result of these initial findings, the Executive decided that resources should be allocated to understanding Northern Ireland’s oneirological constitution, with the Department of Dreamtime (DoD) being formed shortly after. Due to problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the DoD’s research campaign was stalled until 2022.

As one of the areas of Northern Ireland already subject to the devastating effects of climate collapse the DoD’s first major research project will focus on the future-oriented concerns people living Derry~Londonderry and North West region of Ireland.

The Department of Dreamtime is a parafictional artwork by Christopher Steenson, created with the generous of the ESB Brighter Future Fund (in partnership with Business to Arts), Nerve Centre and CCA Derry~Londonderry and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland"