Understand the Focus of Making Futures 2026
Mark your calendars for Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October 2026, as Arts University Plymouth in the UK hosts the highly anticipated Making Futures 2026 conference. Titled Feeling Materials – Care, Reciprocity & Responsive Matter, this international gathering brings together a diverse cohort of makers, educators, and innovators. The central objective is to examine how care and reciprocity can fundamentally reshape the relationships between people, materials, and the natural world.
The 2026 programme has been carefully developed from submissions received from 17 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. This global perspective ensures a comprehensive look at how craft and biomaterials are evolving beyond traditional boundaries. Rather than viewing making as a purely extractive process, the conference frames creative practice as a living system. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with theoretical frameworks and practical applications that position nature as an active co-author in the design process.
Schedule a free consultation to learn more about our research programs and how you can participate in future events.
Zena Holloway Highlights the Potential of Bio-Fabrication
A major highlight of Making Futures 2026 is the confirmation of Zena Holloway as a keynote speaker. Holloway is a living systems designer and the founder of Rootfull, a bio-design studio that operates at the intersection of craft, biology, and horticulture. Her presence at Arts University Plymouth underscores the conference’s commitment to showcasing practitioners who are actively redefining material culture.
Holloway’s career trajectory provides valuable context for her current work. After spending 25 years in underwater photography and creative direction—executing global campaigns for major brands like Nike, Speedo, and Umbro—she shifted her focus toward biomaterials in 2018. This pivot was driven by a deepening awareness of ocean plastic pollution and the urgent need for sustainable alternatives.
Through Rootfull, Holloway has pioneered a unique bio-fabrication process. She guides plant roots through hand-carved beeswax templates. As the roots grow, they weave together to form cohesive structures, resulting in textiles, lighting, and sculptural objects. This method effectively brings horticulture into the realm of high craft. Her work has garnered significant recognition, including a scholarship from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust and an Innovate UK Creative Catalyst grant. Notably, Rootfull has also collaborated with British slow-fashion designer Phoebe English to create a stitch-free dress grown entirely from plant roots, demonstrating the scalable potential of craft and biomaterials in the fashion industry.
Integrate Science and Circular Design in Creative Practice
Making Futures 2026 serves as a critical bridge connecting material-led creative practice with science, design education, enterprise, and environmental research. The integration of scientific methodologies into artistic processes is no longer a niche pursuit; it is a necessary evolution for addressing complex ecological challenges.
ASCUS Art & Science Contributions
Contributing to this scientific dialogue is ASCUS Art & Science, an Edinburgh-based non-profit organization responsible for establishing Scotland’s first publicly accessible art-science laboratory. Founded in 2008, ASCUS has a long history of facilitating work by internationally recognized artists and art-science pioneers, including Oron Catts and Marta de Menezes. At the conference, ASCUS will share insights on how creative practitioners can learn to work directly with biological materials safely and effectively, providing a roadmap for those looking to enter this field.
Education as Infrastructure for Sustainability
The conference will also feature a specialized discussion chaired by Yasmin Jones-Henry, a Financial Times writer and cultural place-shaping strategist. This session focuses on the role of education as infrastructure for regenerative and circular systems of making. The panel will unite prominent voices from the Crafts Council, Future Fabrics Expo, CQ Studio, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at University of the Arts London, and D-Lab. By bringing together these institutions, the discussion will address how academic curricula and institutional support must adapt to prepare the next generation of designers for a circular economy.
Share your experiences in the comments below regarding how education has shaped your approach to sustainable design.
Engage with Plymouth’s Maritime History Through Material Culture
On 30 October, the conference will extend beyond the university campus to The Box, Plymouth’s premier cultural heritage institution. Here, the session titled The Affective Artifact will connect the themes of Making Futures directly with Plymouth’s rich maritime history.
This cross-disciplinary reading will focus on a specific historical object: a late 19th-century diver’s suit constructed from rubber and fibre. The suit, which bears the physical marks of its use—including salt and scarring—serves as a focal point for examining how materials carry history, cultural value, and emotional meaning. Professor Stephanie Owens, Professor Simon Werrett of UCL, and Terah Walkup of The Box will lead the analysis. Contributors from both the humanities and sciences will explore the object to understand how historical making practices inform contemporary debates about material longevity, care, and human-object relationships. This session demonstrates that circular design is not solely a futuristic concept; it is deeply rooted in how past societies valued and maintained their material goods.
Test Early-Stage Ideas at the New Futures Forum
New for 2026, the Futures Forum provides a dedicated space for researchers and practitioners to test and explore material-led ideas that are still in their formative stages. This interactive format is designed to accelerate the development of innovative concepts by subjecting them to immediate, constructive scrutiny.
Participants in the Futures Forum are invited to deliver a rapid three-slide pitch to an audience of peers and experts. Following the pitch, they will receive live audience feedback and participate in one-to-one clinics with a cross-sector panel of academic and industry specialists. The session will be moderated by John Brown, Managing Director of Cornwall-based Innovation Nursery, with support from award-winning bio designer Aurélie Fontan and local business innovators.
The practical value of this forum is significant. The winning idea will receive an opportunity for further development through collaboration with Innovation Nursery. Additionally, the winning concept will be showcased to organizations working across materials science and design, providing invaluable exposure and potential pathways to commercialization or further research funding.
Explore our related articles for further reading on how early-stage ideas in biomaterials are shaping the future of design.
Discover the Centre for Circular Materials at Arts University Plymouth
Making Futures 2026 holds particular institutional significance as it marks the first major international convening of Arts University Plymouth’s Centre for Circular Materials. Building on its official launch earlier in 2026, the Centre uses this platform to introduce its mission to a global audience.
The Centre for Circular Materials operates as a dedicated research hub focusing on how materials are chosen, used, and kept in circulation across creative practice, design fabrication, and industry partnerships. Over the three days of the conference, external researchers, practitioners, and partners will have the chance to engage directly with the Centre’s work. The goal is to foster new collaborations centered on circular, regenerative, and bioregional materials.
Professor Stephanie Owens, Dean of Arts, Design and Media and Chair of the Centre for Circular Materials at Arts University Plymouth, summarizes the importance of this work: “This iteration of Making Futures is significant for the turn it is making toward novel approaches and understanding of craft as a material extension and expression of the living world rather than cut off from it. The slightly provocative premise of looking at our emotional relationship to matter is an opportunity to examine how we might view nature as a co-author in creative endeavour, and in doing so, adopt a new cultural paradigm that considers caring for the planet an aesthetic act as well as an environmental one.”
This perspective elevates the conversation around circular design from a purely technical or logistical challenge to a cultural and aesthetic one. It suggests that sustainability is not just about minimizing harm, but about actively creating beauty and meaning through responsible material engagement.
Plan Your Visit to Making Futures 2026
Making Futures 2026 will take place entirely in person at Arts University Plymouth in the UK, from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October 2026. To accommodate a wider audience, key sessions will be recorded and made available online after the conference concludes. Whether you are an experienced practitioner in the field of biomaterials, an educator looking to update your curriculum, or a student exploring future career paths in sustainable design, this conference offers a rigorous and practical environment for professional development.
The event features a robust lineup of speakers, interactive forums, and networking opportunities designed to advance the discourse on craft and biomaterials. Engaging with this community provides practical insights into how circular design principles can be implemented in various contexts, from high fashion to industrial fabrication.
Submit your application today to join our innovative community at Arts University Plymouth and contribute to the future of sustainable making.
