Laurie Anderson’s latest manuscript will be kept under lock and key for nearly a century, as part of the Oslo-based Future Library initiative preserving secret works for future generations
The American artist Laurie Anderson, known for her groundbreaking work across music, visual art, and storytelling, has become the 13th contributor to the Future Library project. Her manuscript will remain hidden and unread until the year 2114, continuing a fascinating cultural tradition of time-locked creativity.
Future Library collects original works from prominent contemporary authors, storing them in a secured room in Oslo’s Deichman Bjørvika public library. These texts remain unseen, awaiting a future when they will be printed on paper made from a forest of 1,000 spruce trees planted specifically for this purpose in Nordmarka, northern Oslo, by artist Katie Paterson in 2014.
Contributors have included celebrated writers such as Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, and Ocean Vuong. Anderson’s inclusion highlights her unique ability to communicate across time through art and literature, as emphasized by the Future Library Trust. This project celebrates longevity and imagination, binding together past, present, and future voices.
Laurie Anderson’s Artistic Legacy and Contribution to the Project
Laurie Anderson is a multifaceted creator—writer, director, composer, visual artist, and musician—who has consistently pushed boundaries. Over her career, she has published ten books, been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and won a Grammy. In 2024, she also received a lifetime achievement award. Her work has been showcased in renowned venues like the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
The nature of Anderson’s manuscript remains a mystery, as Katie Paterson noted it could be a score, story, instructions, or something as yet unnamed. Anderson shared her fascination with the Future Library because of her lifelong love for books, libraries, and forests, describing childhood memories that connect literature with nature and magic.
Future Library’s Vision: Preserving Creativity for Future Generations
The Future Library Trust praised Anderson for her “singular ability to speak across time, creating work that is profoundly human, radically imaginative and alive to futures we cannot yet foresee.” Paterson added, “Laurie Anderson has spent a lifetime sending signals into the unknown. For decades, she has explored how we tell stories, remember, and imagine what is yet to come.”
This initiative seeks to celebrate storytelling’s power through art, music, and text by safeguarding these voices until a century later. The City of Oslo recently committed to keeping the forest under the trust’s care until the final printing, ensuring the longevity of this artistic experiment.
What Readers in 2114 Might Expect from Laurie Anderson’s Manuscript
Anderson hopes her future readers will find something meaningful about love in her contribution. She emphasized the importance of voice in books, seeking to convey clarity to those encountering her text decades from now. Her hopes reveal a poignant desire to connect intimacy, time, and emotion, blending her varied creative approaches.
Her reflections underline the project’s emotional depth, linking her mother’s love of books and forests to an enduring legacy of imagination and care for future generations. The locked manuscript will stand as a testament to the enduring human spirit and the magic of storytelling.
