Making Futures 2026

Making Futures returns to Arts University Plymouth from 29 to 31 October 2026, the biennial conference and research platform that's been running since 2009. It's curated by Malcolm Ferris and frames contemporary craft and maker practices as 'change agents' in 21st-century society, bringing together scholars, makers, artists, designers and educators to look at the frontier of material practices through the lenses of sustainability, community regeneration and technical innovation. The whole thing follows a materials-ontology approach that's open to both human design and a 'more than human' understanding of materials across craft, materials science, biotechnology and critical ecology.

One of the highlights this year is the roundtable 'The Affective Artifact', which runs on 30 October from 1:00 to 3:00pm at The Box in the Cottonian Room. It's facilitated by Stephane Owens, Professor of Arts and Material Futures at AUP; Simon Warrett, Professor of Science and Technology Studies at UCL; and Terah Walkup, Curator of the Fine Art Archive at The Box. The conference also underpins the university's Centre for Circular Materials, which Professor Owens chairs.

This edition is held in partnership with Intellect and will produce a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal Craft Research titled 'Feeling Materials: Care, Reciprocity & Responsive Matter', scheduled for September or October 2027. The university itself dates back to 1856, when it opened as the Plymouth Drawing School. The conference takes place at the city centre campus on Tavistock Place, with the roundtable moving over to The Box for the afternoon of the 30th.