What's Happening?
The Making Futures (TM) international research conference is scheduled to take place from October 29–31, 2026, at Arts University Plymouth. This three-day event will focus on the theme, 'Feeling Materials: Care, Reciprocity & Responsive Matter,' adopting
a materials ontology approach. The conference aims to bring together artists, designers, innovators, educators, and researchers to explore materials not merely as passive matter but as active participants in creative and cultural practices. Key discussions will span craft, materials science and engineering, biotechnology, critical ecology, and environmental advocacy. The program will delve into six interconnected tracks, including Material Intelligence as a Framework for Ecological Care, Designed Reciprocity & Heritage Futures, Crafted Cultures of Repair, Responsive & Agentic Materiality, Education as Infrastructure: Regenerative & Circular Systems of Making, and New Socio-Material Ontologies: Entanglement Devices. The conference, first convened in 2009, serves as a globally recognized platform for contemporary craft and material-led creative research, gathering international scholars every two years to challenge traditional approaches through emerging technologies and economies.
Why It's Important?
This conference is important as it highlights a growing interdisciplinary focus on the role and agency of materials within creative and scientific fields. By considering materials as active participants rather than passive objects, it encourages innovative approaches to design, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. The emphasis on regenerative and circular material practices, repair, and reuse directly addresses pressing global challenges related to resource depletion and waste. The collaboration between art, science, and technology, as evidenced by partnerships with initiatives like Fab City Global Initiative and the Centre for Circular Materials, can foster new solutions for sustainable development. The conference's focus on 'more than human' agency of materials could influence how industries approach product development, supply chains, and waste management, potentially leading to more ethical and environmentally conscious practices across various sectors.
What's Next?
The conference will feature leaders from the Fab City Global Initiative, including Tomas Vivanco and Tomas Diez, who will contribute to sessions on material intelligence, ecological care, and regenerative systems. The event will also host the Fab Lab European Network gathering, supporting the development of Fab City Plymouth. A keynote address will be delivered by Zena Holloway, who will discuss her work in growing living materials from plant roots. ASCUS Art & Science will present their work and conduct workshops on sampling local ecosystems and weaving algae-based bioyarn. Additionally, the conference will host the first major international convening of Arts University Plymouth’s Centre for Circular Materials, focusing on regenerative and circular material practices in the southwest UK. A special edition of the Craft Research Journal, in partnership with Intellect, will explore themes of care, reciprocity, and responsive matter in craft.
Beyond the Headlines
The 'materials ontology' approach championed by Making Futures 2026 suggests a profound shift in how society perceives and interacts with the physical world. Moving beyond a purely utilitarian view of materials, this perspective encourages a deeper understanding of their inherent properties, life cycles, and potential for reciprocal relationships with humans and the environment. This could lead to a re-evaluation of consumer culture, promoting longevity, repair, and reuse over disposability. Ethically, it challenges anthropocentric views by acknowledging the 'agency' of non-human matter, potentially influencing policy-making in areas like resource extraction, waste management, and biodiversity conservation. Culturally, it could inspire new forms of artistic expression and craftsmanship that are deeply intertwined with ecological principles, fostering a more harmonious relationship between human creativity and the natural world.
