The Adjacent Possible
A talk worth revisiting
One idea keeps resurfacing for me lately: the adjacent possible. A concept first introduced by biologist Stuart Kauffman, it describes how new possibilities emerge not from a single leap into the unknown but from expanding what's already within reach. The future isn't a fixed destination. It unfolds step by step, based on what we have access to right now.
I first encountered this idea through Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and it became a lens through which I navigate uncertainty, creativity, and change. In December 2022, Baltimore Center Stage invited me to speak about the future of art-making in my hometown. It was my first public talk since the pandemic. A lot had changed. I was nervous. I grounded myself in what I knew to be true and gave the talk anyway.
That was three years ago. I'm sharing it now because the questions I raised that night feel more urgent, not less. We are living through a moment that is asking all of us, especially those of us doing culture work, to think carefully about what we're building, what we're protecting, and what we're willing to imagine even when the conditions feel hostile to imagination.
The adjacent possible is not a comfort framework. It's a strategic one. It says: you don't have to see the whole path. You have to see the next door. And then you have to be willing to open it.
The video is below. And because I'm a facilitator, I led a reflection activity at the end.