Starting from cultural geographer Ben Anderson notion of the future as a surprise I would like to discuss how we relate to the future unknown in arts education. In a Scandinavian context still very much bound to utopian thinking, acknowledging how the future will surprise us offers a shift in how we relate to the unknown that does not aim to control. With an element of unpredictability, we can put our efforts into imagining both probable and improbable futures, paying attention to what is incubated within the present, and foster a state of readiness for what is to come. The future as a surprise allows us to practice staying and playing with uncertainty. With examples from my own teaching at different Scandinavian Art Academies I will offer a set of suggestions for places where to start.