Museum provokes debate around plastics

The Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP) is holding an international conference, Provocative Plastics, 17-18 September 2015, at Arts University Bournemouth.

The organisers have so far secured high profile speakers Sebastian Conran, designer; Kigge Hvid, CEO of Design to Improve Life; Richard Northcote of Bayer Material Science; and John Mathers, CEO of the Design Council. These four will be joined by scholars, art and design practitioners, technologists and industrialists, forming a unique and exciting forum to examine the past, the present and the possible future of plastics.

Professor Susan Lambert, Head of the Museum of Design in Plastics, said:

“Plastics are pervasive. They’re used in manufacturing more than any other material, shaping the modern world. They’re also widely used as a creative medium. But they are controversial. For some they’re beautiful and adaptive, for others they’re unauthentic and destructive.

“In the course of this conference we intend to throw a casein cat amongst the polypropylene pigeons and address a number of key themes…”

#PlasticReality – exploring innovative practices past and present made possible with the introduction of plastics. Where would cinematic film, prosthetics, packaging and space travel be without plastic? Could we live in a plastic-free reality?

#PlasticEnvironment – Convenience vs contamination, examining the impact of plastics, good and bad, on the environment, and the relationship between plastics and sustainability.

#PlasticMuse – uncovering the inspirational nature of plastics in relation to art, design, media and performance. Why are plastics selected as a material of production?

#PlasticValues – investigating plastics in relation to different value systems, and their changing fortunes within these systems – from innovation to infamy?

#PlasticPotential – what can plastics deliver in the future? Visions of how they can change the world for the better. Or for the worse…

Lambert added: “It is expected that the conference will play a key role in developing a realistic understanding of the meaning of plastics for society, and in influencing how plastics are perceived and deployed in the future. It will also stimulate knowledge exchange between the plastics industry and the academic community.”

The conference will be accompanied by an exhibition supported by Arts Council England.

Find out more, and take advantage of the early booking discount, at http://provocativeplastics.com/.