Register for Making Futures conference 2026

The international research conference Making Futures takes place at Arts University Plymouth from 29-31 October 2026 and registration is open until 15 October 2026.

Making Futures brings together scholars, makers, artists, designers and educators to explore the frontier of material practices in the context of sustainability, community regeneration and technical innovation. This year’s theme is Care, Reciprocity and Responsive Matter, which will be explored through six conference tracks.

First convened in 2009, the conference is focused on the transformative potential of material and fabrication practices, whose tacit and traditional ways of making contribute to new, progressive futures where people and the planet live together more harmoniously. It seeks to situate material cultures and material knowledge at the centre of the many critical issues facing global consumer society, including how we might move beyond mass consumption towards an inclusive, regenerative economy capable of supporting social well-being and enabling more resilient communities.

As a platform for challenging the material status quo and inviting speculation on how traditional approaches to material production might inform emerging technologies and economies, Making Futures advocates for the importance of shared human heritage, social making, and the significance of place in the value of creative form.

This year’s event explores the relationship between objects, material intelligence, and the emotional encounters that shape the use, substance and physical form of the interfaces we design with and through the world around us. The exploration follows a materials ontology approach to artefacts, open to both a reflection on the characteristics of human design and making, as well as the ‘more than human’ understanding of materials within craft, materials science and engineering, biotechnology, critical ecology and environmental advocacy.

The three-day meeting features a cross-disciplinary programme of speakers and specialists. It takes place at Arts University Plymouth, Tavistock Place, Plymouth, PL4 9AT.

Conference registration is open until 15 October. Find out more and register via this link.

Arts University Plymouth offers a CertHE Ceramics and Glass course and an MA Glass course via its hot glass studio and Fab Lab South West.